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CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

CHURCH IN THE
OLD FIELDS

Hawfields Presbyterian Church and
Community in Worth Carolina

Herbert Snipes Turner, D.D.

Chapel Hill

THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA P^ESS

90675

Manufactured in the United States of America

PRINTED BY THE SEEMAN PRINTERY, DURHAM, N.C.

Dedicated
to

The Memory of my Father and Mother
and to

my brothers and sisters
and

presented to Hawfields Presbyterian Church
in grateful appreciation for what the church
has contributed to our lives and to the lives
of all those whose roots reach far back
into the life of this church and community.

PREFACE

At the beginning of the eighteenth century, waves of Scotch-
Irish emigrants came to America in search of a new way of life.
They settled in communities in central and western Pennsylvania
and in the "back-country" as far south as northern Georgia. These
Scotch-Irish had an unalterable Calvinistic belief in God as the
sovereign ruler of men's lives, and, wherever they settled, the church
became the center around which they built their community life
and from which they drew the inspiration to create a new society
of free men.

One of these groups settled in central North Carolina in the
Haw old fields between the Haw and the Eno rivers, an area that
came to be known as the Hawfields community.

The first reference to a history of the Hawfields Church and
community is found in a letter Henry Pattillo addressed to the
moderator of the Synod of the Carolinas, dated "Granville, 3d
September, 1793," in which he apologizes for not having sent a
history of the Presbyterian church in his section and promises to
have it ready by the spring meeting, giving as his excuse for the
delay, "the infirmities of old age." If Henry Pattillo ever completed
a history of the Presbyterian church in central North Carolina, there
is no record of it.

On October 16, 1857, the committee that had been appointed to
write a history of Orange Presbytery, reported that they had sent
out to the various churches a printed circular containing questions
that they thought important in collecting materials for such a his-
tory. They received little response from the churches, though, and
neither Hawfields nor Cross Roads was mentioned among those
that did reply.

viii

PREFACE

There is a fragment of "A Sketch of the History of Hawfields
Church," written by Mary Wilson and dated September 15, 1857,
among the historical papers of the church. It is in the form of an-
swers to questions that she said were sent to her by the Reverend
E. W. Caruthers. She may be referring to the printed circular
mentioned above.

When Orange Presbytery met at Hawfields in August, 1885,
the matter was taken up again, and specific individuals were ap-
pointed to write historical sketches of the various churches in the
presbytery. Stephen A. White, one of the elders, was appointed to
write the history of Hawfields Church. A part of his manuscript
is among the historical papers at the church.

In 1914, Mildred White, a history major at the State Normal
College for Women in Greensboro, wrote "A History of Hawfields
Church" for her senior thesis, which was published in the May, 1914,
issue of the State Normal Magazine. In the school year of 1917-1918,
Elizabeth Scott wrote a paper on "A History of Hawfields Church"
and Ruth Covington wrote one on "Education in Hawfields." These
papers were a part of their work at the Hawfields School that year.
All three of these excellent studies by Hawfields girls furnished
much valuable information for this work. In 1945, Mrs. W. Kerr
Scott was chairman of a committee from the church which com-
bined the sketches of Mildred White and Elizabeth Scott and
brought the story to that date. This study was published in pamph-
let form, with the title "Historical Sketch of the Hawfields Pres-
byterian Church." All of these works have been stepping stones
to the present endeavor, and I am indebted to them for many of
the facts that they included.

The title of this book contains the word "community" because
the church and community have been so intertwined that it is im-
possible to write about the one without the other.

The people of Hawfields have not, as a rule, been history con-
scious, and as a result little in the way of personal letters and fam-
ily records have survived. This situation has made it impossible to
give detailed information in many cases where it would have been
helpful to do so.

It would be impossible to list the names of all the people in
Hawfields and elsewhere who have shown a deep interest in this

PREFACE

undertaking and who have contributed helpful information of many
kinds to it. To each of them I wish to express my sincere gratitude.

I am especially grateful to James L. McAllister of the Depart-
ment of Religion and Philosophy and to William J. Kimball of the
Department of English in Mary Baldwin College who gave so
generously of their time to read and make helpful suggestions about
the manuscript. I am indebted also to Mrs. W. L. Davis, Librarian
of Mary Baldwin College, for her interest and her care in making
a great deal of material available through inter-library loan. Both
the Hawiields Church and I wish to express our appreciation to
Ralph H. Scott, who has been responsible for collecting the photo-
graphs that appear throughout the book. A word of thanks is due
also to the staff of the University of North Carolina Press for help-
ful suggestions concerning the final arrangement of the manuscript.

Edmund Burke once said, "People who never look backward
to their ancestors will never look forward to posterity." To make
this backward look available for the present generation, the Rev-
erend Ralph L. Buchanan and the session of Hawfields Church
persuaded me to undertake the writing of a history of the church
and community. It has been a rich and rewarding experience, and
I am grateful for this opportunity to pay tribute to a fine church and
community.

Herbert S. Turner

Mary Baldwin College
Staunton, Virginia
May, 1962

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

Preface vii

I. The Haw Old Fields 3

II. The Great Migration 23

III. The New Beginning, 1738-1765 34

IV. Reverend Henry Pattillo, 1765-1775 52
V. The American Revolution, 1776-1791 79

VI. The Great Awakening, 1792-18 19 96

VII. The Ante-Bellum Era, 1820-1849 115

VIII. The Civil War Period, 1850-1873 140

IX. The Era of Rebuilding, 1 874-1900 162

X. The Dawn of a New Century, 1900-1925 179

XI. A Community Center, 1926-1948 211

XII. Rural Church of the Year, 1949-1959 226

Epilogue 242

Appendices 245

Notes 273

Index 289

ILLUSTRATIONS

facing page

Hawfields School, 1908 68

Hawfields School, 191 1 69

Hawfields School, 1913 84

Hawfields Men's Bible Class 85

Hawfields Women's Bible Class 132

William D. Paisley, 1801-1818 133

Anderson Green Hughes, 1 843-1 873 133

Calvin Newton Morrow, 1 873-1 882 133

Samuel Hall Chester, 1 884-1 889 133

Goodridge A. Wilson, 1890-1891 148

R. W. Culbertson, 1 892-1906 148

B. W. Mebane, 1907-1911 148

J. W. Goodman, 1912-1917 148

Jonas Barclay, 1917-1920 149

M. E. Hansel, 1921-1925 149

N. N. Fleming, Jr., 1926-1948 149

Ralph L. Buchanan, 1949-1959 149

Samuel N. Thomas, Present-Day Pastoi 196

Hawfields Presbyterian Manse 196

Original Manse 197

Session House 197

Present-Day Hawfields Presbyterian Church 212

Present Church and Educational Building 212

Presentation of Portrait of R. W. Scott 213

Group of Hawfields Parishioners 213

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

CHAPTER I

THE HAW OLD FIELDS

Between the Haw and the Eno rivers, beginning roughly with
the great bend in the Haw River that skirts the towns of Burling-
ton and Graham and extending south to about Saxapahaw, there
lies a section of the country first known to the white man as "the
Haw old fields." It had no definite boundaries other than the two
rivers on the east and west, and the name was rather a description
of the watershed of these two rivers where they flow somewhat
parallel to each other. When the settlement grew up around Hills-
boro, the name "Haw old fields" was used to designate the region
to the west of that community and extending to the Haw River.

With the coming of the Scotch-Irish and the founding of the
church that took the name of the section, Hawfields came to be
more or less identified with the community that worshiped in the
church. With the passing of time and as the section became more
thickly settled, other communities grew up within this area. But
while the Hawfields community of today occupies only a small
part of the region that originally bore the name, and while people
no longer come from the outlying sections to worship at the old
church, it is today the very heart of the original "Haw old fields."
The church has preserved the name which otherwise might have
been lost with the changes made by time; and it draws the vigor
and strength of its life today from roots that go back to pioneer
days and to a great historic past.

Physical Characteristics

The Haw River, which was the western boundry and which in
turn gave the name to this section, received its name from the last
syllable of the Saxapahaw or Sissipahaw Indians who lived along

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

its banks and tributaries.1 The prevailing topography is a gently
rolling upland of an elevation varying from five to six hundred
feet, its surface sloping with its many streams toward the south
and southwest.2 It was a beautiful country with vast open areas
of rich red-clay soil that produced a luxurious growth of tall grass,
wild pea vines, and wild flowers. Along the ridges were wooded
areas of hardwood trees, mostly various types of hickory and oaks
impressive for their height. There were no pines in those early days.3
After John Lawson, an early traveler, explorer, and historian of
North Carolina, left the Eno River on his way to the eastern set-
tlement he found pines in what are now Durham and Wake coun-
ties and remarked that they were the first pines he had seen in
125 miles.4

No one knows who the first Europeans to see this section were.
More than likely they were the early traders who passed through
it on their way to the Cherokee Indians on and beyond the Ca-
tawba. Whoever they were, they were so impressed with it that
its beauty and desirability were generally known while it was still
a vague section somewhere in the back-country. The Indian vil-
lages were located along the larger streams, the Haw and the Eno
rivers, and the vast open fields that formed the heart of this region
were the feeding grounds for all sorts of wild game.5

Some of the early explorers and travelers who passed through
this section later wrote accounts of their travels. It is to these that
we owe our first historic description of the native beauty of the
"Haw old Fields," untouched by the hand of civilization.

As far as is known, the earliest of these visitors to the "Haw
old Fields" who left any record of his journeys was John Lederer,
who traveled through the section in the early summer of 1670. He
described it as "very open, and clear of woods," and as having, "a
rich soyl, and yet abounding in Antimony."6 (Antimony probably
refers to the white flint rocks so common to this area.) In 1707, John
Lawson wrote, "The land is extraordinary rich, no man that will
be content within the bounds of reason, can have any grounds to
dislike it."7

On July 28, 173 1, William Byrd, who surveyed the line between
Virginia and North Carolina, wrote to Captain Burrington, who
was then Governor of the Province, "It must be owed North Caro-
lina is a very happy Country where people may live with the least

THE HAW OLD FIELDS

labours that they can in any part of the world . . . but no place
has so great a character for fertility and beauty of situation, as
the Haw old fields which lye on the North branch of Cape Fear
and I fancy that is the very spot your Excellency has chosen because
it answers both in distance and quantity to what you say you have
purchased."8

In 1737, just before the first white settlers came, Dr. John
Brickell wrote, "Here are in several Places large Savannas, beauti-
ful to behold, which at certain Seasons, appear at a distance like
so many Pleasure Gardens, being intermix with a variety of Spon-
taneous Flowers of various Colors, such as the Tulip, Trumpet-
flower, Princess-feather, and several others, with great quantities
of Grass on them."9 It was this beauty spot of nature that was to
become the home of the Hawfields community and of the Haw-
fields Church.

These old fields of the Haw River were also rich in many kinds
of wild fruits and wild game. In October, 1728, when William
Byrd and his party of surveyors were in the region of the Hyco
River, just below the present city of Danville, he mentions in his
History of the Dividing Line the abundance of wild grapes of
various kinds (some of which correspond to our wild muscadines),
chestnuts, chinquapins, and wild honey in abundance, that were
to be found in that region. Since he refers to an area just north
of the Haw old fields, it is safe to assume that the wild fruits would
be found there also.

Byrd also writes of the abundance of wild game in this region.
"One of our men Spy'd three Buffaloes, but his Piece being loaded
only with Goose-shot he was able to make no effectual Impression
on their thick hides." Byrd was impressed by the "enormous
strength" and size of the buffalo: "The portly figure of this Animal
is disgraced by a Shabby little Tail, not above 12 Inches long."
The Indians made large spoons from the buffalo horns, "which
they say will split and fall into Pieces whenever Poison is put into
them."10 Herds of such animals once roamed the grassy fields and
wooded areas of what is now the thickly settled Hawfields com-
munity. Bear, which he said fed upon "Acorns, Chestnuts, Chinka-
pins, Wild-Honey and Wild-Grapes," while the season lasted, were
also plentiful.11 Byrd mentions the abundance of wild geese also:
"The Indians call this Fowl Cohunks, from the hoarse Note it has,

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

and begin the year from the Coming of the Cohunks, which hap-
pens in the beginning of October."12 Geese were found in abun-
dance along the streams of the Haw old fields in the fall of the
year. Lawson mentions seeing great flocks of wild turkeys just
after he had crossed the Haw River, which would put them about
where the church now stands.13

The First Inhabitants

There are no camp sites or deposits that would indicate that
Indians had ever lived for any length of time in the Haw old fields,
even in prehistoric times.14 However, when the country was more
extensively farmed than it is now, and when plowing was done
with the hand plow, it was not uncommon for farmers to pick up
arrowheads in the fields. E. C. Turner at one time had a large
collection of arrowheads and a tomahawk made of stone which he
had picked up near his home and around the spring just below the
present cemetery, an indication that Indians had once used this
spring. Other farmers in the Hawfields section also had collections
of arrowheads.

The Indians always located their villages along streams; the
bottom lands were usually used for agriculture, and the village it-
self was located on the rise from the valley.15 The villages were not
compact like our towns. It was not unusual for a village to extend
for several miles along a stream, with family cabins clustered to-
gether. The first explorers who passed through the Haw old fields
found Indians living along the Haw River, along the Eno River
above Hillsboro, and the Occoneechees living in and around what
is now Hillsboro.16 All of these were remnants of what had once
been larger tribes, but war, disease, and contact with the white man
had reduced them to the status of displaced persons, wandering
from place to place.17 The Indian was by nature a rover, and often
a rover by necessity, in search of more adequate food supplies.

For a long time before the white man came, there had existed
an undying feud between the Northern Indians, whose confedera-
tion centered around the Great Lakes, and with whom additionally
the powerful Tuscaroras on the Neuse and Roanoke rivers in eastern
Carolina were confederated, and the Southern Indians.18 The South-
ern Indians, to whom the Haw old fields Indians belonged, were
all of Siouan ancestry and are thought to have come from the south-

THE HAW OLD FIELDS

west beyond the Mississippi.19 They differed in language from the
Northern Indians and were not so barbarous and treacherous. They
tended to live a more peaceable life, living in villages and culti-
vating the soil. The boundary line between these two groups ran
through central North Carolina, and by the time the Indians be-
came known to history most of the Southern Indians had been
driven from Carolina. Tradition assigns several points along the
Haw and Deep rivers, just below the Haw old fields, as scenes of
great battles between Northern and Southern Indians.20 Byrd, in
his History of the Dividing Line, also refers to "the Great War"
between the Indians.

More destructive, however, than these pitched battles were the
constant raids these Indians made on each other. Byrd also writes
of the raids, "And now I mention the Northern Indians, it may
not be improper to make Notice of their implacable Hatred of
those of the South. Their Wars are everlasting, without any Peace,
Enmity being the only Inheritance among them that descends from
Father to Son, and either Party will march a thousand Miles to
take their Revenge upon such Hereditary Enemies."21

The extent to which disease had destroyed the Indians is de-
scribed in a letter from Arthur Dobbs to the Board of Trade, writ-
ten January 19, 1760:

I think it proper to inform your Lords that the smallpox has got among
the Indians, the Cherokees and Catawbas and the account we have from
the last are that great numbers have perished but as they have all dis-
persed in the woods to avoid it they say there are not 40 of their
Warriors left in their Towns and should they be much diminished so
as not to make up a Nation they talk of removing to Join the Creeks.

Evidently he did not have an opportunity to send this letter, for he
added a postscript, dated March 12, "the Catawba nation is almost
destroyed by the Smallpox, not forty men left alive."22

The cruelty of the Spaniards both in Florida and during their
raids into the interior had set many of the Southern Indians on
the move northward, and some writers think that the Indians in
the Haw old fields were Southern Indians who were on the move.23
It is certain that by the time they had made contact with the North
Carolina settlers, they had become migratory Indians.

Unfortunately, of the three groups of Indians living on the out-

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

skirts of the Haw old fields, the ones of most interest to the people
of Hawfields are the very ones about whom the least is known.
The Indians who roved over these fields and camped along the
many streams were in all probability two closely related tribes,
more commonly known as the Shackory Indians and the Saxapahaw
Indians, although some writers are inclined to say that they were
the same.24 At any rate, in the few references that are made to
them in history they are usually found together. They are called
by various names, such as Cacores, Shaccores, Shakori, Shachory,
Saxapahaw, or Sissipahau (as Lawson called them). All of these
names have the same root meaning, and these variations in names
may have been due to a faulty understanding of poor interpreters.25
The first mention of these Indians is found in the accounts of
Spanish explorers who were pushing into the interior from Florida
in search of gold. In the account of his explorations, Ay lion, who
penetrated the interior before De Soto's famous exploration, men-
tions Chicora Indians. Blande, another explorer, in his account
mentions "Schochoores old fields," suggestive of "Haw old fields"
of a much later day.26 In 1566 the Spanish explorer, Juan Padro,
traveled as far into the interior as South Carolina. He mentions
Issa, Guatari, and Sauxpa Indians, who were probably of the Ca-
tawba, Wateree, and Saxapahaw tribes. This is the first clear men-
tion of Saxapahaw Indians.27

In 1521 two Spanish vessels reached the coast of South Carolina
and carried away a number of Indians to be sold as slaves in the
West Indies. One of these Indians was named "Francisco of Chi-
cora." Chicora was a tribal name equivalent to Shackory.28 All of
this would suggest that the Indians living on the Haw River when
this section first became known to the white man were Southern
Indians who had migrated northward to escape the Spaniards.

English explorers who traveled through the Haw old fields left
only meager descriptions of the Indians they found there, and even
here the names Shackory and Saxapahaw are confused, and we
know more about Shackory Indians than we do about Saxapahaw
Indians.

When some of Francis Yeardley's men visited the Tuscaroras
on the Roanoke River in 1654, tneY learned of a great nation called
Cacores who lived to the west. They were described as "a very
little people in Statue, not exceeding youths of thirteen or fourteen

THE HAW OLD FIELDS

years, but extremely valiant and fierce in fight, and above belief
in swift retirement and flight, whereby they resist the puissance of
this potent, rich and numerous people."29

When John Lederer passed through the Haw old fields in 1670,
he said that "Fourteen miles West-Southwest of the Oenocks [Eno],
dwelt the Shackory-Indians. . . . Finding them agree with the
Oenocks in Customs and Manners I made no stay here, but passed
through their Town."30 The name of this town was Shakor, and
it was located on the Haw River a short distance above Swepson-
ville.

In 1712 these Haw River Indians were found farther down the
river. They had been driven from their homes along the river and
in the Haw old fields by the Tuscaroras because they refused to
join with them in the Indian uprising against the eastern colonists
in 171 1. In this conflict Captain Bull of South Carolina raised a
company of whites and Indians to come to the rescue of the col-
onists, and in his company he listed twenty-two Saxapahaw In-
dians.31 No one knows what finally became of these Indians who
once lived in this section. They gave their name to the beautiful
Haw River, which had furnished them an abundant supply of
fresh fish, where "even the shad came up the Haw River as far as
Hawfields."32 Also they left their name to the old fields that they
had roamed and that had furnished them with game and, in after
years, of course, the name came down to Hawfields Church.

The Eno Indians, who, Lederer said, lived fourteen miles from
the Haw River, lived along the banks of the Eno River. The first
mention made of these Indians is in the account that Francis Yeard-
ley's men gave of what they learned from their visit to the Tusca-
roras in 1654. They reported that "there is another great nation
by these called Haynokes, who valiantly resist the Spaniard's north-
ern attempts."33 This bears out the theory that the Indians of the
Haw old fields were all of Siouan ancestry and that they had mi-
grated from their southern homes northward to escape the ravages
of the Spaniards. It is also in line with the theory that none of
these Indians had lived in the Haw old fields for a very long time
before this section became known to the white man.

These Eno Indians are of special interest to the people of Haw-
fields because of John Lederer' s description of their village and his
statement that the Indians on the Haw River were similar in "Cus-

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

toms and Manners" to those on the Eno. This description is of
special importance too, because it is the only available contemporary
description of what the Indian villages in the Haw old fields looked
like. Lederer tells how he reached Oenock on June 16, 1670, and
then gives a description of the Indian town. "The Country here, by
the industry of those Indians is very open and clear of woods."
They built their towns around an open field that was used for
recreation and sports, chiefly the "Slinging of stones." He said
they were "mean in stature and courage, covetous and thievish. . . .
They plant abundance of Grain, reap three Crops in summer."
They built their houses of "Watling and Plaister," and in summer
"the heat of the weather [made] them chuse to lie abroad in the
night under their arbours of wilde Palm." They parched their
nuts and acorns over the fires, the nuts yielding a milky liquor and
the acorns an "Amber-color'd Oyl" when they were pressed. These
were mixed together and cakes were dipped into the liquid and
served to their guests as great delicacies.34

Lederer was not very complimentary in his comments on the
Eno Indians, but it must be remembered that the observations and
conclusions of these early explorers were often incorrect because of
their limited knowledge, lack of understanding, and personal mo-
tives or speculations. Lederer's description of the Eno Indians, and
his statement that those living on the Haw River were similar in
"Customs and Manners," fits in with what Yeardley's men had
learned from the Tuscaroras. It does, however, raise the question
as to whether Lawson met these same Indians when he crossed the
Haw River thirty years later. He writes that they were Sissipahaw
Indians and makes the statement that the Indians were tall and
straight.35 If he had met with Indians who were small "in Statue,"
he certainly would have mentioned that fact.

By the time Lawson visited the Haw old fields in 170 1 the
Schoccoree and Adshusheer tribes (whose origins are unknown)
had combined with those along the Eno River under the tribal
name of Eno. A short time after 1700 part of these had migrated
to Virginia and were living near Clarksville. Later they made their
way north and lost their identity by merging with other tribes.
Others found their way to Eastern Carolina and mingled with the
mixed bloods of Robeson County, later called the Croatans.36

THE HAW OLD FIELDS

The third group of Indians who lived in the Haw old fields and
perhaps the best known were the Occoneechees. They are first and
mentioned by Lederer, who found them in 1670 living on the larg-
est of the islands at the junction of the Dan and Staunton rivers
near Clarksville, Virginia. He called them the Akenatzy Indians.
Unfortunately these islands are now flooded by the Bugg's Island
reservoir and further archaeological research about them is im-
possible.

The island-dwellers were a strong tribe, fierce "and war-like,
and their power was feared by neighboring tribes. They controlled
the back-country trade, forcing traders to pass through their island
gateway to the hinterland of the Piedmont, and compelling the
westward Indians to transport their furs via Occaneechee Town."37
Their position as middlemen in the early days of fur trade between
the colonists and the Indians made them for a time very prosperous.
Wertenbaker described them

as a stout people, and the most enterprising of traders. Their chief town,
situated upon an island in the Roanoke River and defended by three
strong forts, was "the Mart for all the Indians for at least 500 miles"
around. The beaver skins stored in this place at the time of Bacon's
expedition are said to have valued no less than ^1,000. Persicles, their
king, was reported to be an enlightened ruler, "a very brave man &
ever true to ye English."38

In his expedition against the marauding Indians from the north,
Nathaniel Bacon reached the Roanoke River in the spring of 1676
and demanded food and supplies from the Occoneechees who were
supposed to be friendly to the settlers. When, through some mis-
understanding this was refused, Bacon attacked their principal town
and mercilessly butchered many of their defenseless men, women,
and children. The Indians put up a brave and stubborn defense
in which their king and many of their braves were killed, but when
it seemed hopeless to fight further, they deserted the remaining
forts and, with their women and children, escaped across the river
and moved south to the banks of the Eno River near the site of
the present town of Hillsboro.39

It was here that Lawson found them in 1701 and described the
delightful manner in which he was received by them on that winter
afternoon:

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

About three oclock we reached the town, and the Indians presently
brought us a good fat Bear, and Venison, which was very acceptable at
that time, Their Cabins were hung with a Good Sort of Tapestry, as
Fat Bear, and the Barbakued or dried Venison; no Indians having greater
plenty of provision than these. The Savages, do indeed still possess the
Flower of Carolina; the English enjoy only the Fag-end of that Coun-
try.40

Nineteen years later, in 1720, these Indians were living at Fort
Christanna, in Brunswick County, Virginia. Later they joined with
remnants of other tribes and moved north, stopping at Shamokin,
Pennsylvania, then at Cayuga, New York. In 1779 they moved to
Canada.41 They perpetuated the fact that they once lived in the
Haw old fields by leaving their name to the hills about Hillsboro,
calling them the Occoneechee Mountains.

Lawson's book, in spite of its many inaccuracies, ranks high
among the histories of the time for its description of the Indians.
One writer says, "Its picture of the Indians, among whom the
author ate, slept, and moved as freely as a native, is beyond ques-
tion among the most striking and the most accurate of their gen-
eration."42 This statement is borne out in his description of Indian
men and women. Of the Indian men he wrote,

The Indians of North Carolina are a well-shaped clean made People,
of different Statures, as the Europeans are, yet chiefly inclined to be tall.
They are a very straight people. Their Eyes are commonly full and
manly, and their Gate sedate and majestic. They have no hairs on their
faces (except some few) and those but little. They are continually pluck-
ing it away from their faces, by the Roots.

Of the Indian women he wrote,

As for the Indian women, which now happen in my way; when young,
and at Maturity, they are as fine-shaped Creatures (take them generally)
as any in the Universe, They are of a tawny complexion, their eyes very
brisk and amorous, their Smiles afford the finest Composure a face
can possess; their Hands are of the finest make, with small long Fingers,
and as soft as their Cheeks; and their Whole bodies of a Smooth
Nature.43

Lawson's description of the Indian homes is similar to Lederer's
account and adds, "The Cabins they dwell in have Benches all
around, except where the door stands, On these they lay Beast-

THE HAW OLD FIELDS

Skins and Mats made of Rushes, whereon they sleep and loll. In
one of these several Families commonly live, though all related
to one another."44 Of their farming and planting he wrote,

They have no Fences to part one another's Lots in their Corn-Fields;
but every Man knows his own, and it scarce ever happens that they rob
one another of so much as an Ear of Corn, which if any is found to do,
he is sentenced by the Elders to work, and plant for him that was robbed,
till he is recompensed for all the damage he has suffered in his Corn-
Field; and this is punctually performed, and the Thief held in Disgrace
that steals from any of his Country-Folks.45

These quotations and observations on Indian life and manners may
be concluded with one final observation: "They never fight with
one another, unless Drunk, nor do you ever hear any scolding
among them. They say the Europeans are always wrangling and
uneasy, and wonder that they do not go out of this World, since
they are so uneasy and discontented in it."46

It was nearly a half century after Lawson visited in the Haw
old fields before the first European emigrants came to live there,
and by that time practically all of the Indians had disappeared,
leaving only names as an evidence that they had once lived in a
section that Lawson says, "was so delightful that it gave us a great
deal of satisfaction."47

The Great Trading Path

North Carolina has many beautiful highways today, but the
most ancient and most historic of these is unmarked. It still exists,
however, as a part of the present complex highway system. This
highway is known to history as "The Great Trading Path." Long
before it became the main thoroughfare for the fur traders of East-
ern Virginia and the Catawba and the Cherokee Indians of the
West, it was an ancient and well-known Indian trail, along which
some of the great battles between Northern and Southern Indians
were fought.

The Indians had no need for signs such as mark our present-day
highways, for they could follow these ancient trails with ease. But
the early traders and explorers made notches on the trees along
the way to distinguish them from buffalo paths, so that they would
not be led astray. In 1737, Dr. John Brickell wrote : "In other parts

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

the Roads are more like Paths than any publick Road . . . wherever
you meet any of these Paths like Roads, with the trees marked or
notched on each side, it is a sure sign that it is the publick Road
from one Christian Town to another."48

The Great Trading Path crossed the Virginia-Carolina border
somewhere near where the Roanoke River crosses this line. Byrd
states "This is the ford where the Indian Traders used to cross with
their Horses, on their way to the Catauba Nation."49 It then fol-
lowed a southwesterly direction, passing somewhere between Rox-
boro and Oxford and then on to Hillsboro. United States highway
i near the Virginia line most certainly follows part of this trading
path. Long before the modern highways were built, the old "Hills-
boro-Salisbury Road" that dates back to pioneer days was the out-
growth of the pioneers traveling this trading path between these
two points. For this reason it can be traced more accurately here
than anywhere else along the line. This road crossed the present
line between Alamance and Orange counties near where the first
Hawfields Church was built; the present hard surface road from
the county line to the present church is on this old road bed. In-
stead of making the turn as the present highway does to cross
U.S. 119, it ran straight through what is now the southern part
of the cemetery close by the site of the old church in the southeast
corner of the cemetery, then followed the present highway by the
old Hawfields School and the Scott farms to the Haw River. It
is not certain just where the trail crossed the river. It was either
at Swepsonville or just up the river somewhere between there and
the bridge on N.C. 54 and from thence on to Salisbury and to the
Catawba, near Charlotte.50

This historic highway was the gateway into the interior for
the early pioneer settlers and one of the contributing factors in the
location of the industrial heart of North Carolina in the Piedmont
area. All of the early settlements, Hillsboro, Hawfields, Greensboro
(Buffalo), Winston-Salem, Salisbury, and the region around Char-
lotte were on or near this highway. A look at a present-day high-
way map will show that the line of this old trading trail can almost
be drawn on the present highway system.51 It has been estimated
that one in five of the present population of the state lives within a
short drive of this ancient trading path.

William Byrd's History gives the following account of the flow

THE HAW OLD FIELDS

of traffic along this trading path before any of the various settle-
ments were made in the interior. "The Trading Path above-men-
tioned receives its Name from being the Route the Traders take
with their Caravans, when they go to traffick with the Catawbas and
other Southern Indians. The Catawbas live about 250 Miles beyond
Roanoke River, and yet our Traders find their Account in transport-
ing goods from Virginia to trade with them at their own Towne."
The goods for this Indian trade consisted of such items as guns,
powder and shot, hatchets, cutlery ware, brass rings and other
trinkets, which were made up in packets and loaded upon horses,
each animal carrying from 150 to 200 pounds. At the height of
this trade, caravans up to 100 horses conducted by about 15 men
were not unusual, but by the time Lawson met one of these
caravans they had dwindled to less than half that number. The
course from Roanoke to Catawba lay "thro' a fine Country, that
is water'd by Several Beautiful Rivers. . . . Between Eno and Sax-
pahaw rivers are the Haw old fields, which have the Reputation of
containing the most fertile high land in this part of the World,
lying in a Body of about 50,000 acres."52

This ancient trading path is of special interest to the people of
Hawfields because some of those early explorers and traders wrote
descriptions of the beauty and charm of the Haw old fields that
were later to become the home of the Scotch-Irish ancestors of the
Hawfields people.

In the early summer of 1670, John Lederer followed this path
from the Virginia line (getting lost before he reached the Eno),
then went on through the Haw old fields to the Yadkin. From
there he turned east to a point near Fayetteville and from there
returned to Virginia.53 Three years later, in 1673, Abraham Wood,
head of the fur trading business at Fort Henry (now Petersburg,
Virginia), sent out James Needham and Gabriel Arthur along this
same path on an exploring expedition into the interior with in-
structions to go as far as the mountains if possible, for the purpose
of extending the fur trading business. Although they left no de-
scription of the trading path, some mention of their journey is
important for the light it throws on the tension that had developed
between the fur traders and the Occoneechee Indians while they
were still living on the islands at the junction of the Dan and the
Staunton rivers. On Needham's second journey he set out from

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

the Occoneechee town in company with several Indians including
"Indian John." When they had reached the Yadkin, Needham and
"Indian John" quarreled and Needham was shot by the Indian, who
then "ripped open the body of his victim, tore out his heart, and
held it aloft as he turned to the east and vented his rage at the
English."54

The best known of these early explorers and the one who gave
the fullest description of the Haw old fields was John Lawson.
In company with six other Englishmen he set out on his explora-
tory mission on December 28, 1700. They started from what is
now Charleston, South Carolina, and traveled by canoe up the
Santee to the French settlement in the interior. From there they
proceeded on foot and traveled up the east side of the Santee,
Wateree, and Catawba rivers until they reached the Great Trading
Path. They followed the path through central Carolina to the Eno
River. Lawson wrote this description of the Haw old fields: "At
last we determined to rest on the other side of a hill which we saw
before us; when we were on the top thereof, there appeared to us
such another delicious, rapid stream as that of Sapona, having large
stones, about the bigness of an ordinary house, lying up and down
the river."

Some of the old settlers in the Hawfields recalled that at one
time there was a number of very large rocks that stuck out of the
river at an old crossing between where N.C. 54 crosses the river
and Swepsonville. After the dam was built at Swepsonville they
gradually became buried in the mud and water. This may have
been the place to which Lawson referred. Lawson continued:

As the wind blew very cold at N.W., and we were very weary and
hungry, the swiftness of the current gave us some cause to fear; but at
last, we concluded to venture over that night.

Accordingly we stripped, and with great difficulty (by God's assistance)
got safe to the north side of the famous Haw River, by some called
Reatkin; the Indians differing in the names of places according to their
several nations. It is called Haw River, from the Sissipahau Indians,
who dwell up this stream, which is one of the main branches of Cape
Fear, there being rich land enough to contain some thousands of fam-
ilies.

Here is plenty of good timber, and especially of a scaley barked oak;
and as there is stone enough in both rivers and the land is extraordinary

THE HAW OLD FIELDS

rich, no man that will be content within the bounds of reason, can have
any grounds to dislike it.

As soon as it was day we set out for the Achonechy town, it being by
estimation, twenty miles off, which I believe to be pretty exact. We
were got halfway, (meeting great gangs of turkeys) when we saw at a
distance, thirty loaded horses coming on the road, with four or five men,
on other jades driving them. We charged our pieces and went up to
them; inquiring whence they came from? They told us from Virginia.55

The leader of this Virginia group was a trader named Massey,
who on learning from Lawson that he was making his way to the
eastern Carolina settlement, advised him to secure the services of
an Indian guide named Eno-Will, who was then in the Occoneechee
town. The Virginia men said that they "had never seen 20 Miles
of such extraordinary rich land, lying all together, like that between
Haw River and the Achonechy Town." Having taken leave of
the others, Lawson and his company arrived on the Eno about
three o'clock in the afternoon. Lawson wrote further: "We had
not been in the Town two Hours when Eno-Will came into the
King's Cabin; which were our Quarters. We ask'd him if he would
conduct us to the English, and what he would have for his pains;
he answered that he would go along with us, and for what he was
to have he left to our discretion."

He went on, "The next morning we set out with Eno-Will
toward Adshusheer, leaving the Virginia Path and striking more
to the Eastward for Ronoack. Several Indians were in our Com-
pany belonging to Will's Nation, who are the Shoccories, mixed up
with the Eno Indians, and those of the Nation of Adshusheer. Eno-
Will is their chief man, and rules as far as the Banks of Reatkin."56
Finally the footsore adventurers reached the settlement in eastern
Carolina after a journey of about seven weeks. Lawson developed
great respect and admiration for his Indian friend and guide and
afterwards wrote of him: "Our Guide and Landlord, Eno-Will
was of the best and most agreeable Temper that I ever met with
in an Indian, being always ready to serve the English, not out
of Gain, but real affection."57

When William Byrd was surveying the dividing line between
Virginia and Carolina he was so impressed with the land that he
afterwards purchased twenty thousand acres just east of the present

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

town of Leaksville and named it "The Land of Eden." In the
fall of 1733 he set out to survey this land. On September 12, he
recorded:

We sent for an old Indian called Shacco-Will, living about 7 miles off,
who reconed himself seventy-eight years old. This fellow pretended he
could conduct us to a silver mine that lies either upon Eno River, or a
creek of it, not far from where the Tuscaroras once lived. But by
some circumstance in his story, it seemed to be rather a lead than a
silver mine. However, such as it is, he promised to go and show it to
me whenever I pleased. To comfort his heart, I gave him a bottle of rum,
with which he made himself very happy, and all the family very miser-
able by the horrible noises he made all night.58

Douglas L. Rights identifies this man with Lawson's Eno- Will
and points out the degradation to which the white man's fire-water
had brought the noble Lord of the Eno.59

Lawson returned to London in 1707 and wrote his book, A
New Voyage to Carolina, which was published in 1709 and later
reprinted as the History of North Carolina. Lawson returned to
Albemarle in 171 1 and became active in the life of the colony, first
as Deputy, then as Surveyor-General. His work as surveyor brought
on him the wrath of the Indians, who connected his surveying ac-
tivities with the loss of their lands. In the fall of that year he was
captured by them and put to death. One report has it that he was
hanged, another that his throat was cut from ear to ear with his
own razor. Christopher Gale, a contemporary wrote, "the savages
stuck him full of fine small splints of torchwood, like hog bristles,
and so set them gradually on fire."60

The Great Trading Path was not only the gateway to the inte-
rior for the early pioneers ; it also determined in large measure where
they settled. Between 1737 and 1740 the Scotch-Irish came into the
Haw old fields and staked out their home sites, some moving far-
ther on and settling along the Eno River. About the same time
Presbyterians from central Virginia moved farther down and
formed the Nut Bush and Grassy Creek communities near the
Virginia-Carolina line. These communities in the early days were
often served by the same minister who preached at the Hawfields.
Still others settled along this trail in the Yadkin Valley and on
toward what is now Charlotte. A look at the map will show that
these communities were all on a line near this old trail, which

THE HAW OLD FIELDS

served as a line of communication between the lonely and isolated
settlements.

Still later another settlement grew up on the Eno, and the town
of Hillsboro was laid out. When this outpost became one of the
seats of government along with the settlement at Salisbury, the
old trading path was the natural line of communication between
these two places ; and many of the famous officials of colonial times,
first on horseback and then by stage coach, traveled back and forth
between these two towns through the Hawfields. It was along this
path, which had now become the Hillsboro-Salisbury Road, that
Governor Tryon led his troops to meet the Regulators at the Battle
of Alamance in the spring of 1771.

On March 17 or 18, 1776, Daniel Boone and his company set
out from Hillsboro along this road through the Hawfields on his
way to the West.61 During the Revolutionary period, Cornwallis
followed General Greene in his march from Kings Mountain almost
to Greensboro along this road. When General Greene crossed the
Dan River before Cornwallis could engage him in battle, Corn-
wallis retreated to Hillsboro to regroup his troops and to collect
supplies. Then on February 26, 1781, he set out with his British
troops and Tory allies along the Hillsboro Road, which he fol-
lowed as far as the Haw River, on his way to meet General Greene
at the battle of Guilford Courthouse.62 During the Civil War, this
historic old highway was one of the important roads for the move-
ment of troops and supplies in North Carolina.

Land Speculation in the Haw Old Fields
With the beginning of the settlements in the New World there
was a general belief that vast fortunes were to be made quickly
and easily by investing in land in America. In 1663, Charles II
gave to eight men who came to be known as Lords Proprietors, a
vast territory extending from the Virginia line to the Spanish line
in Florida and westward. These men appointed the successive
governors of the province, most of whom were conspicuous for
their bad government and for their efforts to advance their own
personal fortunes as well as the fortunes of the Lords Proprietors.

In 1728, after years of misrule and disillusionment about making
vast fortunes, all of the Proprietors except John, Lord Carteret, who
afterwards became Earl of Granville, sold their interests to the

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Crown. The Earl of Granville decided to keep his share of the
land, and in 1743 and 1746 his share was laid off by ten commis-
sioners, five appointed by the Earl of Granville and five by the
Crown.63 It was bounded on the north by the Virginia line and on
the south by a line that extended from the Atlantic westward in-
definitely along the parallel of longitude 35° 14'. This line is now
the southern boundary of Chatham, Randolph, Davidson, and Row-
an counties. From the time this line was run, all interests of the
Crown ceased in the extensive territory, and the Earl of Granville
appointed Moseley and Halton as his agents to collect rents and
to make grants in his name.64 They were to sell the land at the
highest rate they could get, with a tax of seventy-five shillings on
each one hundred acres to be paid each year as a quit rent.

The interior of Carolina was as yet largely unknown except to
the few adventurous traders who had made their way to the Ca-
tawba, and patents for large tracts of land were issued without any
very definite idea as to their boundaries. Sometimes blank patents
— patents in which the number of acres were left blank to be filled
in by the purchaser for any number of acres he might desire —
were issued for this as yet unexplored country, a practice that led
to many speculative scandals. The attractiveness of the open Haw
old fields was vaguely known, however, and many were anxious to
obtain land there. As a consequence, much more land was patented
than actually existed in the area.

Dr. George Allyn gave a deposition in 173 1 that he was a witness
to a transaction in which Mr. Thomas Jones agreed to exchange
with Mr. George Polloch a tract on the Marrottoch River,

for a Patent for Lands in haw old fields which was Blank and a receipt
on the back of said patent for ye purchase money but by whome signed
this Deponant remembers not and further that he has seen a great many
blank patents without any number of acres mentioned therein with re-
ceipt on the backs of said patent for the purchase money paid but the
sum not expressed.

And further this Deponant saith not.

Sworn to April 24th 1731

George Allynn.65

These blank patents were one of the many evidences of graft in
the land speculations of that day.

THE HAW OLD FIELDS

Another land speculator who had acquired vast holdings in
Carolina was Henry McCulloch. On April 29, 1736, he presented a
petition at the Court of St. James which stated: "That there are
vast quantities of Land in His Majesty's Colony of North Carolina
uncultivated and particularly on the Branches of Cape Fear River
wherein few or no settlements have been made till within these
twelve years and them at present very inconsiderable." He requested
a "Tract of sixty thousand acres situated toward the North West at
or near a place there commonly called or known by the name of
the Haw Fields." Should the request be granted he agreed to settle
three hundred Protestants in the space of ten years and, because of
the hazard and expense of this project, he requested that it be
exempt from quit rents for ten years. Also a clause was to be in-
serted which would protect the rights of any who might have law-
ful claims to land within this territory.66

In August, 1755, Henry McCulloch and Joshua Wellcox were
to appoint deputies who were to have power to sell eight tracts,
"Situate and Lying near or upon Haw River," each containing
12,500 acres, reserving to McCulloch the yearly rent of four shillings
for every one hundred acres.67

George Burrington, who was governor of the colony from 1724
to 1734 had also obtained large holdings in the Haw old fields.
On May 15, 1733, Edward Porter prepared a long narrative in an-
swer to the charges of graft and mismanagement that Governor
Burrington made against him before the Lords Commissioners for
Trade and Plantations, in which he indicated that these men would
do well to inquire into the manner in which Governor Burrington
had obtained the lands he held in the Haw old fields.68 One legend
is that this land was turned over to him by the Earl of Granville
in payment for gambling debts. "On October 1, 1736 Governor
Burrington borrowed of Edmund Strudwick, a retired merchant
of St. Ann's Parish, Westminster, London, 1,140 pounds, giving as
security besides his lands, an assignment against the British Gov-
ernment."69 No part of this was paid during the lifetime of Mr.
Strudwick, and soon thereafter Burrington was arrested and put in
prison for debts. In the settlement of Burrington's estate after his
death, this land in Haw old fields passed to Samuel Strudwick, a
son of Edmund Strudwick.

In October, 1764, Samuel Strudwick came to North Carolina to

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

look after his lands in the Hawfields.70 He found a confused state
of affairs: the land had passed through a number of hands without
any regard to the people who were fast settling there. Some of these
had obtained patents for their land from the Earl of Granville's
agents, while others had no title at all except what they hoped to
acquire by possession.

In 1766, Strudwick tried to meet with these settlers, a few of
whom recognized his claims; but many who had already secured
patents for their land were not disposed to pay for it a second time.
The whole matter became a subject of court proceedings for years,
with the result that Strudwick lost about one-third of his property.
On April 17, 1768, Francis Nash wrote to Edmund Fanning: "And
as an instance of the evil and destructive consequences that naturally
follows from such rebellious and disorderly violation of the laws,
we are creditably informed that Mr. Strudwick's tenants have en-
tered into an association among themselves to keep forcible pos-
session of his lands, and for that purpose yesterday held a meeting
in the Haw Fields."71

As a result of these troubles over land titles a number of the
early settlers left the Hawfields and settled in the New Hope com-
munity. One of those who moved to the New Hope community
was William Craige. It was on the land that he had taken up that
Samuel Strudwick finally settled in 1764 and built his country home,
which he called "Winindale."72 In after years it was known to the
people of Hawfields as "The old Strudwick Place." Still later it
was owned by the Wilson family and, more recently, is known as
the Addison Wilson place. Addison Wilson's son Henry now owns
the place. The original house is gone, but the present house is said
to have been built on the same site. The very old trees in the yard
may well date back to those early days. It was about three hun-
dred yards from this site that the first Hawfields Church was built
and the cemetery where many of the early settlers were buried
was located.

CHAPTER II

THE GREAT MIGRATION

Between the settlement of Jamestown in 1607 and the outbreak
of the American Revolution, many thousands of men and women
from the Old World migrated to America. The overwhelming
majority of these, in spite of the hardships it involved, came of their
own choice. The period in European history from the opening of
the seventeenth century to the close of the Colonial period was
marked by "international wars, civil wars, religious controversies and
persecutions, political disputes, displays of royal despotism, and
social dislocation, accompanied by growing poverty and the enact-
ment of barbaric criminal laws against the poor."1

None of these factors was separate from the other. For example,
religious disputes in England were embittered by political struggle
and civil wars. Nowhere in the Old World was there any concern
for the common man. Most of the land was owned by great land-
lords, and there was little opportunity for men with limited means
to buy land. Then, too, the oversupply of laborers in the cities
created an intense struggle for sufficient work to keep body and
soul together. Therefore, when it became generally known that
cheap land was to be had in America, there were awakened in the
minds of thousands of men and women dreams of freedom, se-
curity, and opportunities such as had never before come to the work-
ing masses.

It would be a mistake to think, however, that the migrations
to the New World were all from the poorer classes of people. It
has been estimated that two-thirds of the immigrants were families
who were able to meet the cost of making the journey and of mak-
ing some kind of start in the New World. Those who were not
financially able to pay for their passage found it possible to come

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

as "indentured servants." Ship captains would bring them to Amer-
ica and then sell their services and skills for a period of years to
some prosperous person in the New World to pay for their passage.
Many people, especially the young and unattached, found it to
their advantage to pay for their passage in this way, because they
were given security while they learned the ways of the New World.
There was no social stigma attached to such practices, and the
great majority of the indentured servants succeeded in the New
World. Many could read and write; some even knew Latin and
French and became teachers in the homes of those who had bought
their services by paying for their ship passage.2

More important than the motives that are usually given as
prompting the great migration to the New World is a factor for
which there is no specific name. Countless men and women who
suffered from the convulsions of the Old World stayed at home
and endured these sufferings, as their ancestors had done, for gen-
erations. Beard, in his History of the United States, writes: "It fol-
lows, therefore, that there was something in the spirit of the men
and women who voluntarily made the break and migrated, a force
of character not simply determined by economic, political, or re-
ligious conditions — a force that made them different from their
neighbors who remained in the turmoil and poverty of the Old
World."3

The spirit that made these men and women make the great
adventure is all the more striking when we realize the hardships
involved in making the journey to America. The voyage itself
lasted anywhere from eight to ten weeks and sometimes as long
as six months. Robert Witherspoon, who emigrated to South Caro-
lina in 1734, wrote an account of a kind of journey that for immi-
grants was repeated many times over:

We went on shipboard the 14th of September, and lay windbound in
the Lough at Belfast fourteen days. The second day of our sail my
grandmother died, and was interred in the raging ocean, which was an
afflictive sight to her offspring. We were sorely tossed at sea with storms,
which caused our ship to spring a leak: our pumps were kept instantly
at work day and night; for many days our mariners seemed many times
at their wits end. But it pleased God to bring us all safe to land, which
was about the first of December.4

THE GREAT MIGRATION

The story of "the starved ship" is a vivid illustration of the hard-
ness of the journey. On its voyage to America in 1740 the pro-
visions ran out, and the starving crew and passengers finally re-
sorted to cannibalism. Samuel Fisher, who settled in New Hamp-
shire, was a passenger, and he tells how he had been selected for
slaughter just as they met a ship that gave them relief.5

It was the general rule that immigrants should furnish their own
food in whole or in part, but their rations still usually ran out or
spoiled. Pastorious, who led the first German settlers to Pennsyl-
vania, gives the following description of the food:

Our treatment, as regards food and drink, was rather bad, for ten
people received three pounds of butter a week, four jugs of beer and
one jug of water a day, two dishes of peas every noontime, and four
times in the week meat at noon, and three times, salt fish, which they
must prepare for themselves with the butter which they have received,
and there must always be enough saved from the noon meal to have
something to eat at night.6

The conditions on board the overcrowded ships were unbeliev-
ably bad. The ships were infested with vermin and all the germs
of contagious diseases. So many people died on these ships that
finally a law was passed that ships must be fumigated twice a week
and washed twice with vinegar during a crossing, but these pro-
visions were not always carried out. Charles Clinton, who made
the journey in 1729, wrote in his Journal that over a hundred died
on shipboard.

Ship captains crowded so many passengers on board that Penn-
sylvania passed a law in 1749 requiring "a berth space six feet long
and one and one-half feet wide for every immigrant of fourteen
years or over." Unfortunately nothing was said about how high
the berths should be, and later the law had to be amended, requiring
that they should be three feet high. The law also specified that
"no more than two whole freight passengers" were to sleep in one
bedstead, unless parents desired to have their children with them.7
In such overcrowded and unsanitary conditions it is not surprising
that disease took a frightful toll, during the long, slow journey,
of those for whom America was to have been the land of prom-
ise.

There is an entry in the old Bible which the Clendenin family

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

brought with them to America which shows that those who finally
settled in Hawfields also shared in these hardships. It is all the
more eloquent because there is only the simple comment: "Rose
died at sea."

The price of passage to the New World varied. Penn, in his
prospectus of 1681, stated, "The Passage for Men and Women is
Five Pounds a head, for Children under Ten Years Fifty Shillings,
Suckling Children Nothing. For Freight of Goods forty Shillings
per Tun; but one Chest to every Passenger Free."8 In 1725, Robert
Parke wrote to his sister, who apparently was planning to come to
America, that "the rate for passage between Philadelphia and Ire-
land is nine pounds."9

Two great waves of emigrants from northern Ireland came to
America, first in 1727 and 1728 and again in 1740 and 1741. The
great majority of these people were Scots who had come to northern
Ireland nearly a century earlier in search of new opportunities and
had now come to be known as Scotch-Irish.

The Scotch-Irish

At the beginning of the reign of King James I of England, a
scheme was devised to solve the problem of northern Ireland, known
as Ulster, by transplanting Scots and English settlers to that area.
Before the plan was completed the rebellion of some of the Irish
lords led to a confiscation of their vast holdings. Their actions
enabled James to carry out his scheme on a much larger scale than
he had originally planned.

This area was to be known as the great Plantation of Ulster.
Just how much land was included in the plantation, it is difficult
to determine. Some writers estimate it to have been about 400,000
acres; others estimate it as high as 3,800,000 acres.10 This vast
territory was to be divided into small estates, none larger than
2,000 acres, and granted to men of known wealth and substance,
to be known as Undertakers.11 Those who accepted these grants
were bound to live on their lands themselves, to bring with them
English and Scottish settlers, and to build, for themselves and for
their tenants, houses and churches. These lands were finally sur-
veyed in 1609, and the grants were made.

The next year the settlers began to arrive. It was the idea of
King James I that this would relieve primarily the overcrowded

THE GREAT MIGRATION

conditions in England, but the English did not take to the idea
very well. It turned out that the great majority of both Under-
takers and tenants came from the Lowlands of Scotland and were
people who were eager to seize this opportunity to better their lot in
the rich lands of Ulster. The first list of Undertakers was made up
largely of sons and brothers of lairds, sons of ministers, and brothers
and sons of burgesses.12 So, that which had originally been planned
as a settlement of English mixed with Scots turned out to be almost
completely a Scottish settlement. For this reason the settlers came
to be known as the Scotch-Irish, a short term for Scots who were
living in Ireland. In early American records they are often referred
to simply as Irish. They erected "their rude, rush-thatched huts
near the landlord's castle," and every night they placed their flocks
within the "bawn" for protection against the marauding Irish.13

There is no accurate estimate of the number of people who came
over from Scotland in those early years to find a better way of life.
One estimate has it that in 1641 there were as many as one hundred
thousand Scots living in Ulster. In that year there was a sudden
uprising of the Irish Catholics against the Protestants, and from
then on for more than a century the Scotch-Irish were caught in
the turbulent and chaotic times that distressed England and Ireland.

The Ulster Plantation project was undertaken just about the
time the settlement at Jamestown in 1607 was getting under way,
and almost from the first there were Scotch-Irish emigrants to the
New World.

The first settlement of Scotch-Irish of any significance in Amer-
ica was on the eastern shore of Maryland. Religious toleration,
"with free liberty of Religion," was one of the inducements which
the Proprietors offered to attract settlers to this area. In 1649, Lord
Baltimore offered three thousand acres for every thirty persons
brought in by adventurers and planters.14 The response to this offer
was the real beginning of the great migration of the Scotch-Irish
to America.

George Scott, who was active in transplanting Scots to the new
world, wrote a book that was published in Edinburgh in which
he described the opportunities of the new world and the attractions
that Maryland offered to new settlers.15

After the English Revolution of 1688, a steady stream of mi-
gration took place from Ulster to the New World. Between 1714

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

and 1720 fifty-four shiploads of people landed in New England,
founding the Scotch-Irish settlement there.16

Between 1720 and 1740 and the years immediately following,
they came in even greater numbers. Most of them landed at Lewes
and New Castle in Delaware and at Philadelphia. There were a
number of causes that led to this great migration. In 1717 and
1718 most of the land leases ran out, and the landlords doubled
and sometimes trebled the price for renewing them. There were
also rumors of further land restrictions in the making.17 In addi-
tion to these difficulties, the Scotch-Irish were Presbyterians and
still had to pay tithes to support the Church of England, which
they did not, of course, attend. Ever since they had been in Ireland,
the Church of England had imposed religious restrictions upon the
Presbyterians, sometimes with greater severity than at others. In
1704, Parliament passed the Test Act, which excluded them from
all civil and military offices by requiring all who held government
positions to take communion in the Established Church. This of
course deprived them of many of their rights as citizens.

The crowning blow, however, was the economic restrictions that
the English government now placed upon the people of Ulster,
which practically destroyed their linen trade. Irish goods were not
only shut out from England, but the selfish merchant class was
bringing pressure on the government to shut off, additionally, their
trade with the colonies, so that they would not interfere with Eng-
lish trade there. Finally, and most harsh of all, there had been
successive years of famine that destroyed their crops. There was
nothing left, then, to induce these energetic men of Ulster to re-
main in Ireland, and they left in great numbers with their wives
and children, never to return. In 1718, mention is made of "both
ministers and people going off." In 1728, Archbishop Boulter
stated that "above 4200 men, women, and children have been
shipped off from hence for the West Indies, within three years."
As a result of the famine of 1740, another reports that for "several
years afterwards, twelve thousand emigrants annually left Ulster
for the American plantation."18

Contrary to popular tradition, the main reason for the great mi-
oration of Scotch-Irish to America was economic rather than re-
ligious. In the face of religious persecutions, these Presbyterians
were not inclined to run away but rather to stand their ground

THE GREAT MIGRATION

and bear the strife common also to their brethren in Scotland. They
regarded themselves as Scotch Presbyterians as deeply as though
they remained residents of Scotland.

In the spring of 1718, a minister in Ulster wrote to a friend in
Scotland: "There is likely to be a great desolation in the northern
parts of this Kingdom by the removal of several of our brethren
to the American plantation. No less than six ministers have de-
mitted their congregations, and great numbers of their people go
with them; so that we are daily alarmed with both ministers and
people going off."19 Archbishop Boulter, Primate of Ireland, wrote
in 1728, that "The whole north is in a ferment at present." In
March of the next year, he wrote: "The humor of going to America
still continues, and the scarcity of provisions certainly makes many
quit us. There are now seven ships at Belfast that are carrying off
about 1,000 passengers thither."20

Edmund Burke, in his Account of the European Settlement in
America, also commented on the vast number of Scotch-Irish who
were moving to America: "In some years more people have trans-
ported themselves into Pennsylvania, than into all the other settle-
ments together. In 1729, 6,208 persons came to settle here as passen-
gers or servants, four-fifths of whom at least were from Ireland."
He wrote further:

The number of white people in Virginia is between sixty and seventy
thousand; and they are growing every day more numerous by the im-
migration of the Irish, who, not succeeding so well in Pennsylvania as
the more frugal and industrious Germans, sell their lands in that province
to the latter, and take up new ground in the remote counties in Vir-
ginia, Maryland and North Carolina. These are chiefly Presbyterians
from the northern part of Ireland, who in America are generally called
Scotch-Irish."21

When these Scotch-Irish began to come to America in large
numbers after 1720, most of the land in the east had been taken up,
and a landed aristocracy had developed all along the eastern sea-
board. Many in the New World had prospered and were now land
conscious. Consequently, those who were able to do so had patented
large areas* of land on the frontiers. The tensions that already
existed between the large land owners and the newcomers were
now heightened by this vast influx of people from northern Ire-

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

land whose tendency was to push on into the interior and "fre-
quently sit down on any spot of vacant land they can find without
asking questions."

There are many references to this struggle for land in the con-
temporary writings of that time. James Logan, who was Secretary
for the Province, wrote to J. Chalmers of Belfast in 1727, "We are
very much surprised here at the vast crowds of people pouring in
upon us from Ireland." Two months later he wrote to John Penn,
"We have from the North of Ireland great numbers yearly, 8 or
9 ships this last fall discharged at New Castle." In 1729 he wrote:

It now looks as if Ireland or the Inhabitants of it were to be transplanted
hither. Last week I think no less than 6 ships arrived at New Castle
and this place (Philadelphia), and they are every 2 or 3 days when the
wind serves dropping in loaded with passengers, and therefore we may
easily believe there are some grounds for the common apprehension of
the people that if some speedy Method be not taken, they will soon
make themselves Proprietors of the Province.22

Again in 1730 he wrote that these settlers in taking the land by
force alleged that "it was against the laws of God and nature, that
so much land should be idle while so many Christians wanted it to
labor on and to raise their bread."23

Finally, the officials of the Pennsylvania province became so
alarmed by the immense number of Scotch-Irish who were coming
in that the Province became virtually closed to any further settle-
ment. By 1750 one-fourth of the population of Pennsylvania was
Scotch-Irish. Benjamin Franklin estimated their number to be
350,00c24 Watson's Annals, in 1743, contained the notation, "The
Proprietors, in consequence of the frequent disturbance between
the Governor and Irish settlers, after the organization of York and
Cumberland Counties, gave orders to their agents to sell no lands
in either York or Lancaster Counties to the Irish."25

Accordingly, by the time the migration was reaching its peak,
Pennsylvania had become only a temporary stopping place in which
to gather supplies and make preparations for moving farther on.
From then on the great tide of migration turned southward,
through the Valley of Virginia and then on into the back-country
of North Carolina and as far south as northern Georgia.

These pioneers followed the ancient Indian trail southward in

THE GREAT MIGRATION

such numbers that it later came to be known as "The Great Wagon
Road"; an early map that locates this road is preserved in the
Library of Congress. The road ran from Lancaster and York in
Pennsylvania to Winchester, Virginia, thence up the Shenandoah
Valley, crossing the James River at Looney's Ferry and from there
to the Staunton River at what is now Roanoke. It then followed
this river through the Blue Ridge mountains, and turning southward
it crossed the Dan River below the mouth of Mayo and went on
into the Yadkin Valley. Some of the settlers who followed this
road, after crossing the Dan, came farther east by the old Red
House in Caswell County and on to the Great Trading Path, then
followed it across the Haw River and on into the section around
Salisbury.26 It was along this road, which as yet was only an Indian
trail, that the early settlers came into the Haw old fields and founded
the settlements on the Eno and in Hawfields sometime between
1736 and 1741.

Foote says in his Sketches of North Carolina that "As early as
1740, there were scattered families on the Hico, and Eno, and Haw,"
but he does not give the source of his information.27 Ian Charles
C. Graham, in Colonists from Scotland, says that "Ulster immi-
grants began to settle along the Eno and the Haw about the year
1738."28 The Reverend D. I. Craig says in his "Historical Sketch
of New Hope Church," "From certain facts and dates in my pos-
session, I am confident that it was not later than 1741 and not
earlier than 1736 when these families landed on American soil.
How long they remained in Pennsylvania I do not know, but it
was not a great while, perhaps only a few months."29

Craig also says that at least some, if not all, of those who came
into the Hawfields came to America in the same vessel and that
they were connected by family ties in Ulster. This probably is the
reason for the close connection between the group that moved on
to the New Hope section some ten years later and those who re-
mained in the Hawfields community. These ties were cemented
by marriages between the young people of the two communities
in the years that followed. The New Hope group also worshiped
at the Hawfields Church until a church was erected in that com-
munity. Craig says, "it was mid-winter and as they passed through
Virginia some of the rivers were so completely frozen up that they

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

drove their teams over them on solid ice."30 Joseph A. Waddell
has given a vivid description of the journey of these pioneers
through the wilderness. He says that in 1738 there were only two
log houses where Winchester, Virginia, now stands, so on leaving
Pennsylvania they were almost completely in the wilderness.

There was, of course, no road, and for the first comers no path to guide
their steps, except, perhaps, the trail of the Indians or buffalo. . . . Only a
scanty supply of food was brought along, for, as game abounded, they
mainly "subsisted off the country. . . ." It was impossible to bring wagons,
and all their effects were transported on horseback. The list of articles
was meagre enough, Clothing, some bedding, guns and ammunition, a
few cooking utensils, seed corn, axes, saw, &., and the Bible, were in-
dispensable, and were transported at whatever cost of time and labor.31

Although Waddell's description has reference to the settlers who
came into the Valley of Virginia a few years earlier than the settle-
ment in the Hawfields, it may very well be taken as an accurate
description of the many groups who passed through the Valley of
Virginia. By the time the first Hawfield settlers came through the
Valley there were a few scattered log cabins here and there along
the way, but it is doubtful whether or not they found any after
they crossed the James River. The trail was not hard to follow,
but it was not open for wagons until a number of years later.32
It is certain, therefore, that they traveled on foot and with horse-
packs.

Just why these early settlers turned east after crossing the Dan
River instead of following the great stream of settlers into the
Yadkin valley is not known. The only possible clue may be found
in the old Anderson family Bible where one reads that John An-
derson and his wife, on reaching the Dan River and learning of
rumors of smallpox in the Yadkin and Catawba valleys, turned
east and settled at the head of the Eno River.33

On arriving in the Haw old fields, although it was mid-winter,
the vast open spaces of gently rolling land, well watered by many
small streams, displayed such charm and beauty that they decided
to make them the end of their journey. Each family selected a
spot along one of the many streams, beside a good spring, and
staked out its claim.

The lush growth of wild pea vines and tall grass, even though

THE GREAT MIGRATION

it was winter, was sufficient to supply abundant pasturage for the
various kinds of livestock they had brought with them, and the
abundance of wild game supplemented the scant provisions that
they had been able to bring. The first fruits they ate from the new
land that spring were the wild strawberries. William Byrd wrote
in his The Land of Eden, "All the woods, fields and gardens are
full of strawberries, which grow excellently well in this beautiful
and lovely land."34 All of this land was still back-country, ef-
fectively cut off from the settlements on the seaboard by the vast
pine barrens to the east.

CHAPTER III

THE NEW BEGINNING

1738.1765

There are no official records that give a list of the first settlers
who came to the Hawfields when that area extended from the Eno
to the Haw rivers. Most of the references to these early settlers are
dependent upon the studies of the Reverend D. I. Craig, who was
a careful scholar and who had access to many family records and
documents that have since been lost. His studies, however, were
concerned with family records and connections, and he made no
attempt to give a complete list of the early settlers in the Hawfields.

The First Settlers

As far as the records go, it is fairly certain that John Anderson,
who came to the headwaters of the Eno in 1738, was the first settler
in the original Hawfields. In that year he and his family staked
out an area three miles square between the east and west creeks
of the Eno where they unite to form the Eno River. Theirs was a
grant that his wife's mother had received from the English gov-
ernment for services her husband had performed in the British
Army.1 As far as it is known, this grant did not specify any par-
ticular place in North Carolina. The first settler in what is now
Hawfields was Gilbert Strayhorn, who came to the Hawfields in
1740. It is highly probable that William Craig came with him on
that first visit; the two men were related and are said to have
originally owned practically all of the land in Hawfields.2 It is
doubtful that these two men did anything more than mark this
area in some way on that first visit. It was a long way to the near-
est place where they could have found an agent of the Earl of Gran-
ville to secure titles from him.

THE NEW BEGINNING

Gilbert Strayhorn was twenty-five years old when he made that
first visit to the Hawfields, He returned to Pennsylvania and mar-
ried Margaret Roan, and the following winter he and William
Craig, again as far as is known, led the first group of settlers into
the Hawfields proper. Gilbert Strayhorn settled on what later was
to be known as the Calvin Tate place, on the south side of the
present highway, about halfway between the present church and
Mebane. William Craig settled at the old Strudwick place farther
east, near where the first church was built. Dr. Craig says:

Among these families were the Craigs, the Blackwoods, the Kirklands,
the Freelands and perhaps the Mebanes, the Tates, the Harts, the Nel-
sons, the Mitchells, the Johnstons, etc. I am almost certain the Craigs,
Blackwoods, and Kirklands and perhaps the Freelands, came across the
Atlantic in the same vessell, for they seem to have been connected by
relationship in the old country, and did not separate after landing in
America until they were settled.3

Other families mentioned by Dr. Craig as either coming with this
group or arriving shortly thereafter were those of James Hunter
(the half brother of Gilbert Stray horn's wife), Andrew Murdock,
the Tinnens, Turners, Mallettes, Aliens, and Morrows. Not all of
these remained in the Hawfields, however. Because of the diffi-
culties over obtaining titles to the land, William Craig, Gilbert
Strayhorn, the Blackwoods, Kirklands, Freelands, Harts, and per-
haps others moved on to the New Hope section after a short stay
in the Hawfields. Alexander Mebane settled near the present town
of Mebane, the Morrows in what is now Bethlehem, the Nelsons
near what is now the Hebron Methodist Church, the Aliens on
the Alfred Newlin place near Swepsonville, and Andrew Murdock,
the Tates, the Turners, and Johnstons in what is now central Haw-
fields.4

These first settlers left no description of their journey from
Pennsylvania, nor did they leave any account of the setting up of
their new homes in the Haw old fields, so the only source for a
description of the hardships of the journey is the records that were
left by settlers in other parts of North Carolina. It must have taken
them at least three or four weeks, camping in the open at night and
cooking their meals over an open fire, to reach their destination
from Pennsylvania. If the group mentioned by Craig was the first

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

to arrive in the Hawfields, they would have come in the winter
time. They had no shelter except such temporary brush shelters
as they could build to protect themselves from the winter winds
and rain. Their first homes, which they built with their own hands,
were one-room log buildings, unbelievably small and crude by all
modern standards. The floor was of packed red clay. There were
no panes for the small openings that served for windows. The
chimney, with its large open fireplace that served both for warmth
and for cooking, was made of logs and was daubed and lined with
clay.

Other families and individuals either accompanied those men-
tioned by Craig or followed soon after, and by 1760 most of the
original families were settled in the Hawfields. John Thompson
settled on Back Creek in 1750, Jacob Bason settled on Haw River
about 1758, Joseph Clendenin settled on Haw Creek in 1764,
Stephanus White settled on Back Creek in 1761. His wife, Ann
Ross, was a relative of the famed Betsy Ross. The Kerrs and Scotts
were probably in the Hawfields by 1750.5 After Braddock's defeat in
1755 the fear of an Indian uprising led many who had settled in
Pennsylvania to sell their holdings there and move to safer regions
farther south. Possibly some of these came to the Hawfields.
Among those who signed the petition for the erection of Donegal
township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, were: "James Gilbraith
and his three sons, Andrew, James and John; Hugh, Henry, and
Moses White; Richard Allison; James and Thomas Mitchell; John
and Malcom Karr; and John and Hugh Scott."6 All of these were
familiar names in the early Hawfields community; however, this
does not necessarily mean that they were the same families as those
mentioned above.

The following records show how rapidly the whole region was
being settled. In 1740 there were only a few families scattered along
the Hyco, Eno, and Haw rivers. In 1748 there were not twenty
tithables in all that region. In 1751, Governor Gabriel Johnston
reported that settlers were "pouring in." In 1752 and 1753, Alex-
ander Mebane, the first sheriff, reported 1,113 tithables for Orange
County, which would indicate a population of at least 4,000 for the
whole county.7 In 1767 the Reverend George Micklejohn reported
3,573 taxables for the parish of St. Matthew, which was the same

THE NEW BEGINNING

area as Orange County.8 At the same time the Scotch-Irish were
settling the Hawfields, German immigrants were moving into the
area west of the Haw River. Tensions had grown up between these
two groups back in Pennsylvania, which may explain why the
river became such a sharp dividing line between them in North
Carolina. So rapidly did the settlers come to the Hawfields and
other areas that, by 1767, Orange County had the largest population
of any county in North Carolina.9

Cut off as they were from the more settled areas, and left largely
to their own ingenuity and native ability, they turned the first
years into prosperous ones. The land was productive, cattle in-
creased in numbers, and the settlers added to their homes (which
were still constructed of logs). The Reverend Joseph Doddridge,
whose Notes were taken down from personal observation, gives
the following description of the typical Scotch-Irish home of the
pioneer days: "The coats and bedgowns of the women, as well as
the hunting shirts of the men, were hung in full display on wooden
pegs round the walls of their cabins, so while they answered in
some degree the place of paper hangings or tapestries, they an-
nounced to the stranger as well as neighbor, the wealth or poverty
of the family in the articles of clothings."10

In the beginning the methods of farming were crude and prim-
itive. Plowshares were made of wood with a strip of metal attached
to the cutting edge; fortunately for the early settlers the land was
soft and easily turned. The first harrows were made from brush
cut from the woods ; later this method was replaced by an A-shaped
harrow with wooden teeth. It was surprisingly long before wagons
came into use on the frontier, and so the sled was the common
method by which heavy loads were transported. The harness for
their horses was brought from Pennsylvania, but when the leather
was worn out it was replaced by ropes and by deerskin. But oxen
laden under wooden yokes were much more common as work
animals. The corn was planted in hills and worked with a hoe.
Other small grains were broadcast by hand and then covered by the
farmer's dragging a brush over the land. Grass was cut with the
scythe, and grain was cut with a sickle. After the grain was har-
vested, it was beaten out with flails and then winnowed by being
tossed into the air.

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Until he became fairly well established, the pioneer commonly
possessed but one horse and one cow. But, as the years passed,
livestock increased. Swine and poultry, geese rather than chickens,
multiplied rapidly. At first only the fields were enclosed with
worm fences made of rails. An act of the North Carolina Assembly
in 1715 required "that every planter shall make a sufficient Fence
about his clear Ground Five foot high and the end of every Raile
not to be above four inches assunder until the Fence be three foot
high from the ground."11

The greatest handicap that the early settlers had to face was
the distance to market. The nearest market where they could do
their trading was the Scots Highland settlement at Cross Creek
(Fayetteville), but there was no road laid out to that place and
would not be for some years to come. Consequently, each family
had to be largely self-sufficient and carried on a great variety of
activities in which all the members of the family took part.

The cultivation of flax was almost universal among them, and
all of the clothing was made by hand. Doddridge's Notes describe
the typical dress of the pioneer. The hunting shirt, a kind of loose
frock reaching half way down the thighs, was worn by nearly all
of the men. It was made of linsey, coarse linen, or deerskin. "The
cape was large and sometimes handsomely fringed with a ravelled
piece of cloth of a different color from that of the hunting shirt
itself." Breeches, leggings, and a pair of moccasins completed the
dress of the men.12

The universal dress of the Scotch-Irish woman of the frontier was a
short gown and petticoat, made of wool for winter and of linsey-woolsey,
for summer. Wool hats or hoods were worn in the winter, and sun-
bonnets in summer. . . . Occasionally relics of the old land and life,
such as a ring, a pin or broach, were more or less in evidence.13

These early pioneers were not rich; neither were they poor.
They had enough money to pay for their passage, to provide for
necessities in the New World, and to buy land. Some of them took
up large tracts of land. Nevertheless, their crude log houses and
primitive ways of life were the objects of disdain to the landed
aristocracy of the eastern shore and to the wealthy city dwellers
along the coast. William Byrd frequently referred to them with

THE NEW BEGINNING

scorn and contempt. What men like him did not see and never
did understand was that these crude beginnings were to the Scotch-
Irish, "symbols redolent with moral memories and sang a very
paean of duty, struggle and success."14 It was this lack of under-
standing that later separated the colonists politically into Tories
and Whigs.

Land Titles

It is difficult to give any coherent account of the method by
which the early settlers obtained titles to their new homes. Con-
flicting claims to land in the Hawfields existed from the very be-
ginning, causing some of the settlers to move on and found the
New Hope community. Any one of the early settlers who had
claims to the land in North Carolina, like John Anderson who
settled on the Eno, felt free to move in and take up land wherever
he chose, and from all accounts the newcomers to this as yet un-
explored country just moved in and settled down, with the idea
that titles to their claims could come later.

Some of the early deeds indicate that there were individuals
living in the eastern part of the state or elsewhere who had secured
large holdings in the Hawfields, although it is doubtful whether
any of these large tracts were surveyed. These deeds contain such
statements as "in the Hawfields, being part of a tract of 5000 acres
granted to George Pollock,"15 or "being a part of five thousand
acres of land purchased by Peter Mallett of Roger Moore."16 One
of the largest of these land owners was Samuel Strudwick, who
had a claim to something more than twenty thousand acres in Haw-
fields.17 Some of the early settlers undoubtedly purchased their land
from one of these large land owners; others obtained titles from
the agents of the Earl of Granville, who were issuing patents with-
out too much regard to the claims of others. The general con-
fusion which resulted from this situation led to the closing of the
Land Grant office in 1766. It was not opened again until 1773,
after which date all titles were issued in the name of the state of
North Carolina.18

The Land Grant records in Raleigh show that the following
persons having the family names of those who appear on the first
Hawfields church roll obtained titles from the state after 1779:

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

July 3, 1779

James Anderson — 235 acres on Back Creek
September 3, 1779

John Albright — 309 acres on waters of Haw River.

George Allen — 230 acres on waters of Haw Creek.

Henry Anderson — 180 acres on waters of Haw Creek.

John Bason — 150 acres on banks of Haw River.

William Clendenin — 400 acres on west side of Haw Creek.

James Freeland, Jr. — 100 acres on Haw River.

Thomas Freeland — 200 acres on Haw River.

George Hodge — 624 acres on Back Creek.

John Hodge — 225 acres on Back Creek and Mill Creek.

George Johnston — 435 acres on Haw Creek.

Alexander Mebane — 79 acres on Haw River.

Andrew Murdock — 95 acres on Haw River.

Samuel Nelson — 500 acres on branch of Haw Creek.

Alexander Patton — 100 acres on Back Creek.

Andrew Patton — 150 acres on Back Creek.

Nathaniel Rochester — 640 acres on waters of Eno.

William Scott — 100 acres on Back and Meadow Creek.

William Tate — 630 acres on Mc Adams Creek.

William Tate — 150 acres on Mc Adams Creek.

William Tate — 330 acres on McAdams Creek.

James Turner — 180 acres on waters of Haw Creek.

Stephen White — 200 acres on Back Creek.

There is a long list of Thompsons who received titles to land on
Haw River, Back Creek, and Eno.
October 3, 1779

James Kerr — 200 acres on Back Creek.

Samuel Patton — 136 acres on Haw Creek.
December 8, 1779

Nathaniel Christmas — 250 acres adjoining line of Strudwick.
December 13, 1779

William Mebane — 1 acre on waters of Haw River.
December 15, 1779

James Freeland — 200 acres on waters of Back Creek.
March 13, 1780

William Craig — 200 acres on a branch of Haw River.

William Galbraith — 200 acres on east side of Haw River.

William Hodge — 240 acres on Haw River.

THE NEW BEGINNING

October 25, 1780

Andrew Patton — 100 acres on Back Creek.
October 25, 1782

Charles Clendenin — 55 acres on waters of Haw Creek & Haw River.

Robert Faucett — 400 acres on Back Creek and Haw River.

Alexander Mebane — 618 acres on Back Creek.

Mebane and Pickett — 540 acres — middle fork of Back Creek.

James Scott — 330 acres on both sides of Jordan Creek.

Robert Johnston — 180 acres on Haw Creek.

November 9, 1784

Andrew Anderson — 200 acres on waters of Haw River.

Thomas Lynch — 380 acres on middle fork of Back Creek.

Hugh McAdams — 592 acres on both sides of Back Creek.

John Patton — 180 acres on waters of Haw Creek.

John Patton— 620 acres on Haw River, Haw Branch & Quaker Road.

Grants made after 1784

Nov. 17, 1790. Alexander Mebane — 340 acres
Nov. 27, 1793. Robert Scott — 150 acres on Jordan Creek.
June 30, 1797. John Galbreath — on waters of Back Creek.
Aug. 13, 1798. James Faucette — 200 acres on Back Creek.19

All of the above deeds have the surveyor's plot attached to them,
so it is evident that considerable time was required for the survey-
ing of these tracts before the deeds were made. It is impossible to
say just how many of these grants were for original home sites or
were additional purchases of land. Some of the names are those of
the original settlers; others are the sons of the original settlers. The
list is interesting in that it shows that the state as late as 1779 still
held the title to more than fifteen thousand acres of land in Haw-
fields. The list also helps to locate the general area in which many
of the original settlers lived. It should be remembered that the
terms, "Haw River," "Haw Creek," and "Back Creek," are used
in the deeds in a broad sense, indicating the general area in which
the land lay.

In addition to the names mentioned above, there were other
settlers living in the Hawfields, which at that time included all
of the area from the Eno to the Haw River. The Butlers, William
and John, had large holdings on the Haw River near Swepsonville ;
the Bentons lived near what is now Efland; the Harts owned con-

42 CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

siderable land around Hart's mill; and a number of others lived
west of Hillsboro and in the Bethlehem area. All of these had
large holdings that were original grants from the Earl of Granville.
There is no record that these families were connected with the
Hawfields Church, but they did influence the life of the community.

The New County

The government of the colony finally took recognition of the
rapid development of the interior, which had grown up almost
without its knowledge and certainly entirely independent of its
influence. In 1752 a new county was set up, to be known as the
County of Orange, in honor of William III of the House of Orange,
who ruled England from 1689 to 1702.20 The new county was
formed from the western portion of Granville, Johnston, and Bladen
counties. Its eastern boundary began at the Virginia line near
Hyco Creek on the north and extended "to the Bend of Eno River,
below Occanechas, near the Plantation where John Williams now
dwelleth ; thence down the South side of Eno River, to Neuse River ;
thence to the Mouth of Horse Creek; thence a direct line to the
Place where Earl Granville's line crosses Cape Fear River; thence
along the said line, to the Eastern Bounds of Anson County."21
Alexander Mebane of the Hawfields was appointed the first sheriff
of the new county.22

In 1754 the site of the present town of Hillsboro was chosen as
the permanent county seat. William Churton laid out four hun-
dred acres as a town and commons on land that had been granted
to him that same year, and the court appointed James Watson,
Josiah Dixon, and Lawrence Thompson "commissioners and trus-
tees for the county seat." The site was first named Corbin Town,
in honor of Francis Corbin who was a member of the governor's
council and also the land agent for the Earl of Granville.

In 1759 the name was changed to Childsburg, for Dr. Thomas
Child, also one of Granville's agents. In 1766 the name of the town
was changed to Hillsborough, in honor of the Earl of Hillsborough
who was at that time British Secretary of State for the Colonies.
The establishment of the seat of government on the eastern border
of the Hawfields community had a decided effect on its develop-
ment up to and during the Revolutionary period. It brought into

THE NEW BEGINNING

the community many prominent people whose ideals and whose
ways of life were alien to those of the Scotch-Irish.

Some of the local officials were natives of the county, but some were
"foreigners." As one writer put it: "To it [the community] come the
merchant, the lawyer, the tavern-keeper, the artisan, and the court of-
ficials, adventurers all in the perennial pursuit of gain." Edmund Fan-
ning, the most hated man in Orange — and perhaps in the whole colony
— was a native of New York, a graduate of Yale, and holder of honorary
degrees from a number of universities.23

A number of these people lived within the Hawfields community,
which accounted for the appearance of those men in knee breeches
and silver-buckled shoes who mingled among those wearing the
familiar garb of the typical pioneer.24

As yet there was no separation of Church and State in North
Carolina, and, as in Virginia, the Church of England was the Es-
tablished Church. Consequently, the area was also organized as
St. Matthew's parish, with Hillsboro as the seat of its activities,
which put the Hawfields Church under the very shadow of the
Established Anglican Church.

Soon after the organization of the county, the merchantile firms
of Buchanan, Hastie and Company of Glasgow, Scotland, and the
Wilmington firm of Hogg and Campbell opened up places of busi-
ness in Hillsboro.25 So far there was no permanent seat of govern-
ment in North Carolina, and the attractiveness of Hillsboro and
its location near the center of the state led to some talk of making
it the permanent seat of the state government. All of this discussion
was reflected in the life of the Hawfields community. Governor
Tryon wrote of Hillsboro, in 1767, that it would "tend much to-
ward the increase of the settlement in that part of the back country,
as well as to civilize the inhabitants thereof."26

The result was that there grew up within the Hawfields com-
munity an aristocratic Tory element. The Reverend Charles Wood-
mason, a Church of England clergyman who visited Hillsboro in
1766, commented on the poor morality of the town and surrounding
community. Nash, in his book Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolution-
ary, adds, "In truth, the most moral communities in the whole
section were those over which a few Presbyterian ministers held

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

sway and exerted an influence for good, and Hillsboro was not one
of them."27

The First Church

It has been rightly said that the schoolhouse and the church
went together wherever the Scotch-Irish frontier moved, and in
this respect Hawfields proved no exception. The first places of
worship erected by these pioneer Scotch-Irish were nothing more
than brush arbors, which were called "Tents." The tents were sup-
ported by poles placed between trees or by forked stakes that were
then covered with branches. At the back of the arbor or tent was
a stand for the minister.

Some of these tents were quite elaborate. "Poplar Tent," near
Concord, North Carolina, was one of the most famous of these
tent-like structures, and the Presbyterian Church there still bears
the name. Foote reports, "The Scotch and Scotch-Irish emigrants
to the Carolinas used these tents in all seasons of the year, till they
could build a house; and afterwards, during the warm season;
and when the congregations were large, irrespective of the season;
sometimes, as Dr. Hall tells us, standing in the rain and snow, in
crowds, to hear the gospel preached."28

Such was the first place of worship in the Hawfields. There is
no record of exactly where it was located; it was probably built
somewhere near the first log building. It is reasonably certain that
the first ministers to preach to the Hawfields community spoke from
one of these tents or arbors.

The first Hawfields Church building, like all of the early church-
es erected by the pioneer Presbyterians, was built of logs. It was
located about a mile and a half southeast of Mebane on what is
now the old Wilson place.29 At the time it was built, it was on
Samuel Strudwick's land not far from where he built his home.
Therefore it apparently must have been built before he arrived in
1764 to take possession of his property and before the disputes over
the titles to property arose.

No first-hand description of that original building has survived,
but it is safe to presume that it followed the general pattern of most
of the early church buildings in Scotch-Irish communities. As was
the case in all of those early buildings, the pulpit was located at

THE NEW BEGINNING

the side of the room. In the back there was a high board in front
of the high, semi-circular pulpit which was approached by means of
a narrow stairway. Above the pulpit there was often a circular or
octagonal covering called a "sounding board," which extended out
from the wall. These early pulpits, the main piece of furniture in
the otherwise very plain buildings, had a certain charm and beauty
about them and often showed real artistic skill and craftsmanship in
their construction.

Immediately in front of the pulpit there was a raised platform
on which the precentor stood to lead the congregational singing.
There were few, if any, hymnbooks, and the precentor stood on his
platform facing the congregation and "lined the hymns." That
is, he read out two lines and then directed as these lines were sung
by the congregation; then he would read out two more lines, and
so on, until the hymn was completed. It was the custom in the
early days to sit during the singing and to stand for prayer. This
custom of standing for prayer was the expression of a Calvinistic
belief that had been deeply ingrained in all Presbyterians since the
days of the Reformation. It was a symbol of the Presbyterian belief
in the dignity of man and of his intrinsic worth in the sight of God.
He bowed to no man and stood erect before his God.

The men sat on one side of the church and the women sat on
the other. Children always sat with their mothers. This early
custom, which was strictly observed in all of the early Presbyterian
churches, persisted in the Hawfields Church well into the memory
of many who now worship there. Originally there was a division
in the center block of pews of the present building to separate the
men from the women. The men sat on the west side of the church
and the women on the east side. It was a memorable event in the
lives of some of the older men in the present Hawfields Church
when they were allowed to leave their mothers to sit with the men
on their side of the church.

People came to the old church on foot and on horseback. About
the church grounds there were "upping stones" from which women
mounted their horses. Clothing was homespun, but occasionally
some items imported from England were worn; some of the men
wore wigs, knee-breeches, and silver-buckled shoes, as was men-
tioned earlier, while others wore the familiar garb of the pioneer.30

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Early Ministers

There was no settled minister in the Hawfields until the Rev-
erend Henry Pattillo came in 1765. Before that time Hawfields was
entirely dependent upon supply ministers who could be sent to the
community from the settled areas in the North. One of the most
stirring chapters in the history of the Presbyterian church is the
valiant effort it made to give ministerial service to the rapidly grow-
ing communities on the western frontier from Virginia to Georgia,
a very nearly impossible task. At that time the Presbyterian church
was represented by two bodies, the Synod of Philadelphia and the
Synod of New York, and each minister was expected to take some
time off from his pastorate each year to supply vacant churches.

Some idea of the effort the church was putting forth to meet
this pressing problem, as well as the names of the early ministers
who preached at Hawfields before the coming of Henry Pattillo,
can be gathered from extracts from the minutes of these church
courts. In 1743, William Robinson was sent out by the Presbytery
of New Castle, Delaware, to visit the Shenandoah Valley, the south
side of the James, and the numerous settlements of North Carolina
on the Haw. He spent the winter in North Carolina, and was
probably the first minister to visit the Hawfields.

In the minutes of the Synod of Philadelphia from a meeting
in Philadelphia on May 23, 1744, we learn: "A representative from
many people of North Carolina was laid before the Synod showing
their desolate condition, and requesting the Synod to take their
estate into consideration, and petitioning that we would appoint
one of our number to correspond with them. Ordered that Mr.
John Thomson correspond with them."31 At that time John Thom-
son was on a visit to these petitioners and to other areas in North
Carolina.32 Whether he repeated these visits during his pastorate
at Buffalo, Virginia, is not known, but, considering how extensively
he traveled, in all probability he did visit this area again. There is
no positive record of a further visit until 1751, when he never again
returned to Virginia.33

In 1753, McMordie and Donaldson were appointed to spend
ten weeks each in the settlement in Virginia and North Carolina.
McMordie was to set out the first of July and Donaldson the first
of October. In 1755, Donaldson and Wilson were appointed to

THE NEW BEGINNING

spend three months each in Virginia and Carolina. Donaldson was
to go in the fall, Wilson in the winter, and a Mr. McKennan for
three months in the spring. In 1756, in response to supplications
from Virginia and North Carolina, John Alison was ordered to
supply these vacancies during the following fall and winter.34

The first mention of Hawfields by name occurs in the minutes
of the Synod of Philadelphia, at its meeting in Philadelphia on May
25, 1757: "May 26. Ordered, that Mr. Millar supply the following
settlements in order, in the fall, each one Sabbath day, viz: Gather's
settlement, Osborn's, Morison's, Jersey's on Atkin, Buffer's, Haw-
fields, and Baker's Settlements, And that Mr. Craig supply the same
settlements, each one Sabbath day in the spring."35

Similar supplications were also being sent to the Synod of New
York for ministerial services for this same area. This synod, meet-
ing at Newark on September 26, 1754, took the following action:
"Sept. 27: The Synod taking into consideration the destitute con-
dition of Virginia and North Carolina, as it hath been represented
unto them, do appoint Messrs. Beatty, Bostwick, Lewis and Thane,
each of them to make a visit to those parts for the space of three
months and the season to be agreed upon by themselves."36 At the
next meeting of the Synod these men reported that they had ful-
filled their appointments. At the October meeting Brainard and
Spencer were appointed to "take a journey thither before winter"
and to spend six months or longer if necessary in those parts.

In 1755 and 1756 the Reverend Hugh McAden, a licentiate
under the care of New Brunswick Presbytery, spent a year touring
the churches in North Carolina. Hugh McAden kept a Journal of
his travels through Virginia and North Carolina, in which he re-
corded his impressions of people and places. In his account he
stated that he reached Mr. Anderson's on the Eno on Wednesday,
and on Friday [August 22, 1755] he rode

to the Hawfields, where I preached the fourth Sabbath in August, to
a considerable large congregation, chiefly Presbyterians, who seemed
highly pleased, and very desirous to hear the word. Preached again on
Tuesday; the people came out to hear quite beyond expectation. Wednes-
day, set out upon my journey, and came to the Buffalo Settlement
[in Guilford County].37

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

On his way home he stopped again at Mr. Anderson's and on
Tuesday, April 27, 1756, he preached at Hawfields. At a meeting
of the Synod of New York in Philadelphia on May 27, 1758, "A
supplication was brought in from Itico, Enno and the Haw fields
in North Carolina for supplies, and for a candidate to be sent
among them in order for settlement." At this same meeting, on
May 29, "The Synod appointed the Presbytery of New Brunswick
to send a candidate to Itico, Enno, and the Hawfields, if possible,
before the next Synod. It also earnestly recommends to the Pres-
bytery of Suffolk, to send Mr. Brush to those important vacancies
as soon as possible."38

Both the Synod of Philadelphia and the Synod of New York
were meeting in Philadelphia that spring, and the difficulties that
had divided them were at last happily adjusted. The two synods
combined on May 22, 1758, under the name of the Synod of New
York and Philadelphia. At the meeting of this united synod, the
Presbytery of Hanover, which had originally been organized by
the Synod of New York, was reconstructed in order to include
all of the territory from the Virginia line southward. At the meeting
of the united synod in May, 176 1, Hyco, Hawfields, and Eno, to-
gether with a number of churches in the Yadkin Valley, asked for
supplies, and Mr. Caldwell was appointed to supply these southern
vacancies, "and to go thither as soon as possible." At the same
time that requests were being sent up to the northern synod for
supplies, similar requests were being sent to the old Hanover Pres-
bytery in Virginia, which had been organized by the Synod of
New York in 1755.

At a meeting of this presbytery at Goochland in 1756, "a petition
from Enno and the Haw-fields for Supplies, and particularly for mr.
Martin" was presented.39 This petition was deferred until the next
meeting of the presbytery when "mr. Martin is to be sent out in
answer to them." In the fall of 1757, Hawfields again petitioned
for supplies and the presbytery took the following action: "The
Presbytery appoint mr. Martin 6 Sabbaths at Rockey-River, one at
the Hawfields and one at Hico in North Carolina."40

The following minutes of the Hanover Presbytery reflect the
reorganization and unification of the Presbyterian church.

THE NEW BEGINNING

Providence, April 26th 1758

A petition from the Inhabitants in and about Hico, formerly under the
Care of the Synod of Philadelphia, was presented to the Presbytery for
Supplies, particularly for mr. Pettillo: with which the Inhabitants of the
Hawfields, Enno, and Hico, under the Synod of New York, concurred,
by another Petition.

Mr. Richardson is appointed to preach the 1st, 2d and 3d Sabbaths of
May at Hico, Enno and the Hawfields.41

In answer to petitions for supplies from Eno, Hyco, the Haw-
fields, Nut Bush, Grassy Creek, Meherrin, and other vacancies,
Hanover Presbytery, during its fall meeting in 1758, took the
following actions: "Mr. Henry is appointed to preach one Sabbath
at Grassy-Creek or Nut-bush, and another at Eno or Hawfields be-
twix this and our next Presbytery"; at the July 18, 1759, meeting,
"Mr. McCaden is appointed to supply one Sabbath at the Cove, one
at Hico, one at Hawfields and two at Notingham on his way
home"; at the next meeting, August 25, 1759, "Mr. Wright to
preach one Sabbath at Eno, One at Haw-fields, and one at Nutbush
or Grassie Creek before our next"; at the September 24, 1760,
meeting, "Mr. Henry is appointed to preach 2 Sabbaths at Nut
Bush and Grassy Creek. Mr. Wright 2 Sabbaths at Hawfields, Hico,
Eno, or Buffalo in North Carolina."42 Similar petitions were sent
up to the Presbytery and to the Synod during the next several years.

At a meeting of the Associate Reformed Presbytery in October,
1762, "there was laid before them a petition from Hawfields, North
Carolina." The next year the presbytery appointed the Reverend
James Proudfoot to spend two months in North Carolina. He did
not fulfill this appointment and was called to account by the presby-
tery for his failure to do so. However, he did spend from October
25, 1763, to April 15, 1764, among these churches.

Again, at their meeting at Marsh Creek, Pennsylvania, on
August 15, 1764, "The petition from Carolina was considered, Rev.
Robert Annan was unanimously appointed to set out thither im-
mediately after the first Sabbath of September next, to be three
Sabbaths at the Hawfields, and two at Sugar Creek [Mecklenburg
County]."43 When the Associated Reformed Presbyterian Synod
created the Presbytery of Carolinas and Georgia, it listed fourteen

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

churches in North Carolina. The first two on the list were Haw-
fields and Eno.44

When the Synod of New York and Philadelphia met at Eliz-
abeth town on May 16, 1764, Elihu Spenser and Alexander McWhor-
ter were appointed "to go to the southward, and particularly North
Carolina." They were to "form societies, help them in adjusting
their bounds, ordain elders, administer sealing ordinances, instruct
the people in discipline, and finally direct them in their conduct,
particularly in what manner they shall proceed to obtain the stated
ministry.

At the next meeting of the synod these gentlemen reported that
they had fulfilled their mission southward, and the synod ordered
that their expenses for the trip be paid. This is the first reference
to expense accounts of the many ministers who had been sent south-
ward on these preaching missions. Since the mission of Spencer
and McWhorter had led to the organization of a number of new
churches, the synod recommended "that a glebe, with a convenient
house and necessary improvements, be provided for every min-
ister."46

The mission of Spencer and McWhorter to these churches in
North Carolina raises a perplexing question as to the status of these
churches before that time. Since there are no records that give
the date of the organization of many of the early churches in North
Carolina, the mission of these two ministers could have been to
organize officially the churches on the frontier and to supervise
the election and ordination of elders. It is more probable, however,
that they were to assist and encourage the churches that had become
somewhat disorganized during the years in which they had been
dependent upon irregular and uncertain supplies.

Tradition has it that Hawfields was organized in 1755, although
Hanna says that there was a church there before 1755, a fact borne
out by the minutes quoted above. Probably the correct sequence of
events is that, first of all, the early settlers erected the log building
soon after their arrival in the Hawfields. It was then officially
organized by one of the ministers who visited the church in 1755
or 1756 who had been sent out under the Synod of New York.
Jethro Rumple states that "It is probable that the Church at Haw-
fields was organized sometime between August 1755 and April 1756

THE NEW BEGINNING 51

as a result of Mr. McAden's visit."47 This information was based
on a manuscript furnished him by the Reverend C. N. Morrow.

It was the policy of the Synod of New York to emphasize the
importance of organizing churches on the frontier, and many of
the early churches were organized by visiting ministers working
under its supervision. The reference to Hyco, Eno, and Hawfields
in the minutes of Hanover Presbytery, mentioned earlier, showed
that they were under the care of the Synod of New York on April
26, 1758.

The visit of Spencer and McWhorter in 1764 apparently put new
life into the churches, for when Hanover Presbytery met at Hyco on
October 2, 1765, "A call was presented by the Moderator to the
Rev'd Mr. Pattillo from the congregations of Hawfields, Eno and
Little River, to which he engages to return an answer in eight
weeks."48 At a presbytery meeting in Louisa, Virginia, on November
7, 1765, Henry Pattillo opened with a sermon based on James 1 127.
The minutes of that meeting contain the following statement:
"Mr. Pattillo accepts of the call presented to him at our last, so far
as to move out among those People, in which the Presbytery con-
cur."49

CHAPTER IV

REVEREND HENRY PATTILLO

1765-1775

In the summer of 1754, while living at the home of the Reverend
Samuel Davies, Henry Pattillo began a Journal, a part of which is
still in existence. It is to his Journal that we owe most of the
meager facts now available about the early life of this remarkable
man. He was born in Scotland of an ancient and honorable Scottish
family residing in Balermic, near Dundee, "of Religious Parents,
educated with care and tenderness above many mine equals." The
original name of this family was Pattullock; there are at least eight-
een modifications of its spelling, ranging from "Pattillo" to "Petil-

ly"'

Early in life he was placed with a merchant to learn the duties
of the countinghouse. Later, like many other young men of his
day, he turned to America to seek better things in life. On arriving
in America, he first found employment with a Virginia merchant.
He recorded that there, in the absence of religious instructions and
restraints, he experienced "the overcoming power of temptation,"
which for a time prevailed over his earlier instructions.

Worth S. Ray finds a lames Pattillo who in 1728 was appointed
to inspect tobacco and who was also a processor of lands in Prince
George County, Virginia. His children are listed as James, Ann,
and Henry, and Ray seeks to identify the Reverend Henry Pattillo
with the son of this James.2 Pattillo's Journal shows that he is in
error; but his statement is important. It could very well be that
these Pattillos were related that the young Henry decided to come
to America. And perhaps it was with this Pattillo in Virginia that
he found employment in which he could use the training that he
had received in Scotland.

REVEREND HENRY PATTILLO

Early Years in Virginia
Leaving the countinghouse, Henry Pattillo spent several winters
teaching school in various communities in Virginia. It was during
these years that his religious life became increasingly important to
him and he began to feel led to bring men to Christ. Of this ex-
perience he wrote, "I can boast of but little success in these endeav-
ors, yet my feeble attempts produced in me an indescribable de-
sire of declaring the same to all mankind to whom I had access;
and as I could not do this in a private station, I was powerfully
influenced to apply to learning in order to be qualified to do it pub-
licly."3

Having formed this resolve he had the good fortune to meet the
Reverend John Thomson, who was then on his way to carry out
a preaching mission to the churches in North Carolina, and Thom-
son persuaded Pattillo to come to Pennsylvania and commence his
studies in preparation for the ministry. Accordingly, in 1750, he
set out for Pennsylvania, but before he had gone a half -day's journey
he developed pleurisy and was ill most of that winter. The next
summer he met the Reverend Samuel Davies, who invited him to
come to his home and begin his studies for the ministry. He ac-
cepted this invitation, and on the first of August, 1751, he arrived
at the home of Samuel Davies in Hanover, where he "had a kind
welcome."4 The next seven years of Pattillo's life were spent at the
home of Samuel Davies, pursuing classical and theological studies
along with a group of other young men who were living at Mr.
Davies' home at that time, preparing for the ministry. Henry Pat-
tillo had hoped to spend some time at the College of New Jersey,
now Princeton University, but his financial circumstances made it
impossible for him to do this. It was during his stay at the Davies
home that Henry met and fell in love with Mary Anderson, and
they began making plans to be married. When Samuel Davies, who
was in England that year raising money for the College of New
Jersey, was informed of these plans, he wrote to Henry and strongly
urged that the marriage be delayed until after he had finished his
education at the College of New Jersey. The young couple did de-
lay for a time but then decided to go ahead with the marriage,
believing, Pattillo said, that it would not involve him financially or
interfere with his studies. He felt strongly "That Mr. Davies was

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

so well known in the learned world that a person finished by his
hand, would not come under contempt any more than many shin-
ing lights now in the Church, who were educated before the college
was erected."5

The young man was supported during his stay in Hanover by
the kindness of his friends, by his own teaching of a group of
children several hours each day, and, after his marriage, partly by
the resources of his wife. In the last entry in the journal he says
that they lived in a "little house 16 by 12 and an outside chimney;
with an 8 feet shed and a little chimney to it." On the same day,
June 13, 1757, their home was struck by lightning. Eleven people
were in the house at the time, but all escaped unharmed.6 During
those years Henry Pattillo pursued his studies with diligence and
attained to a high rank as a classical scholar.

At the April meeting of the Hanover Presbytery in 1757, Henry
Pattillo made application for licensure, and the usual "parts" were
assigned to him; at the September meeting, having passed success-
fully his presbyterial examinations and trials, he was licensed to
preach the Gospel and was commended to the churches of the
presbytery. His ordination took place the next summer when Han-
over Presbytery met at Cumberland Church in Virginia, on July 12,
1758. The presbytery approved his trial sermon and exegesis and,
after a review of the various parts of his trial, proceeded to his ordi-
nation. The ordination sermon was preached by his distinguished
teacher, Samuel Davies, on the topic "The Love of Souls, a Nec-
essary Qualification for the Ministerial Office." The minutes then
record: "The Reverend Messieurs Henry Pattillo and William Rich-
ardson, have been set apart to the Work of the Holy Ministry, by
Fasting, Prayer, and the Imposition of Hands; and the Moderator
and Clerk are ordered to give them a Certificate of the same."7

At the same meeting of the presbytery, Henry Pattillo was
elected Stated Clerk of the Presbytery "to transcribe their Minutes
into the Presbytery-book." The minutes of Hanover Presbytery at
the next meeting, September 27, 1758, contain this entry: "Mr.
Pattillo accepts of the Call from the united congregation of Willis's,
the Byrd and Buck Island, in which the Presbytery heartily concur.
The Moderator is appointed to preside at Mr. Pattillo's Installation

REVEREND HENRY PATTILLO

at the Byrd; on Wednesday the 25th of October."8 And so Henry
Pattillo began his long and fruitful ministry.

When Hanover Presbytery met at Tinkling Spring, Virginia,
on October 7, 1761, it took the following action: "The Petition from
Mr. Pattillo and his Elders, that he may have no Appointments
abroad this Year by the Presbytery, is granted, as his Congregation
allow him the fourth Part of his Time at his own Disposal, to help
out his Sallary, which is not sufficient for his Support."9 There is
no indication as to what Henry Pattillo intended to do with this
extra time, but in all probability it was spent in teaching school.
A year later, Hanover Presbytery met at Providence, in Louisa,
October 7, 1762, and at this meeting Henry Pattillo resigned from
his field. His supplies were left to his discretion: "Mr. Pattillo
having given his People timely Notice of his Design, moved to be
dismissed from his Congregation, they being unable to give him a
sufficient support and no objection being made, the Pby. agree to
it, and he is accordingly dismissed from his Charge and the Re-
lation broke."10 This incident gives some indication of the problem
of adequate support which both ministers and churches had to
face in those early days of the life of the church. After he resigned,
Pattillo supplied for one year at the Cumberland, Harris' Creek,
Deep Creek, and Amelia group of churches and apparently taught
school in the intervals.11

When Henry Pattillo accepted the call to the Hawfields, Eno,
and Little River group of churches on November 7, 1765, there were
only three other Presbyterian ministers in the colony. James Camp-
bell had gone to the Cape Fear region in 1757 and was serving the
congregations of that area more or less as an independent minister.
For a long time he held his presbyterial connections with the pres-
bytery of South Carolina; it was not until 1773 that he became con-
nected with Orange Presbytery. After his journey through North
Carolina and Virginia, Hugh McAden returned to become the set-
tled minister of the congregations in Duplin and New Hanover and
remained with them until 1768. Alexander Craighead had been
installed pastor at Rocky River, in what is now Mecklenburg Coun-
ty, in September, 1758, and died there in March, 1766, "the solitary
minister between the Yadkin and the Catawba."12

The coming of Henry Pattillo was a milestone in the develop-

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

ment of Presbyterianism in the central and western parts of the
state. He had the distinction of being the first of a distinguished
group of men who came to the Piedmont section of North Caro-
lina about the same time. In the same year, James Criswell was
called to the Nut Bush and Grassy Creek group of churches. Hugh
McAden became pastor of the Hyco, Dan River, and County Line
group of churches in 1768. Joseph Alexander was installed at Sugar
Creek in 1768, and David Caldwell was installed at Buffalo and
Alamance in 1768.13

Henry Pattillo had visited his churches on several occasions
under the direction of Hanover Presbytery in response to their re-
quest for supplies; therefore he was not unknown to the people
of his new charge. He was then thirty-nine years old. The nine
years he was to spend with these churches were to be the most
fruitful years of his ministry. The center of the Regulator move-
ment lay between his congregations and those of Dr. David Cald-
well of Buffalo; consequently, the two men became outstanding
figures in central Carolina during the Regulator disturbance.

Pattillo was an outstanding preacher. When William P. Sprague
edited his Annals of the American Pulpit, he included him in his
list of distinguished American clergymen. No picture of the min-
ister has survived, but in a letter Mrs. John Holt Rice wrote to Dr.
Sprague, dated April 19, 1854, she describes her impressions of
Henry Pattillo as she first knew him when she was a girl of fifteen.
He "had a large frame, and considerably more than the ordinary
degree of flesh." His features "were rather large and coarse, though
his face easily lighted up with a smile of good-will." He had "great
frankness of character" and, though always poor, he never seemed
to regard his lot as a hard one. A great lover of books, Pattillo
purchased them as frequently as his circumstances would allow.
His conversation, like his preaching, was striking. "He had a loud
voice, spoke with great earnestness, and was listened to with at-
tention."14

The Regulator Movement

Henry Pattillo had come to a difficult field at a stormy time.
His ministry, 1765 to 1773, coincided almost exactly with the Reg-
ulator Period, 1765 to 1771. This turbulent period is fully described

REVEREND HENRY PATTILLO

in many sources so that there is no need to review more than the
phases of it which throw light on the scene of Henry Pattillo's
labors. The grievances against which the Regulators were fighting
were more flagrant in Orange County than anywhere else because
Hillsboro was more or less the seat of government for the central
and western part of the state; but the movement extended to all of
the back-country of the state. The evils which this movement
sought to "regulate" were intensified by the scarcity of money in
the whole colony. As one would imagine, the scarcity of money
imposed great hardship upon the people, especially upon the farm-
ers. Caruthers quotes a Mr. MacPherson, who wrote that

he went with his father to Cross Creek, now Fayetteville, with a load of
wheat, 40 bushels. They could get five shillings per bushel; but of this
only one shilling was paid in money; or they could get a bushel of salt
for a bushel of wheat. On their return they had forty shillings in cash;
and were able to pay their tax, which was more than any other man in
the setdement could do.10

Governor Tryon and the Assembly had been trying to solve this
problem for years, but they were unable to come up with any solu-
tion. Many who might have paid what to them were exorbitant
taxes and unjust fees were unable to do so because there was no
money. As one farmer put, it, "The government lays taxes upon
us and then refuses to provide money with which to pay them."16
It is easy then to understand the bitterness aroused among the peo-
ple by having their possessions forcibly taken away for nonpayment
of taxes by corrupt and dishonest officials.

In justice to the Regulators it must be remembered that their
quarrel was not with the government itself but with the subordinate
officials — clerks, lawyers, sheriffs, and lesser officials. The officers
of every grade, from the governor down to the sheriff were paid
not by a fixed salary, but by fees, which afforded great temptations
and great facilities for extortion and corruption. These opportunities
were all the greater because it was the practice for the same man to
hold more than one office at a time. Edmund Fanning, for ex-
ample, was lawyer, assemblyman for Orange County, Register of
Deeds, Judge of the Court, and a colonel in the militia. A popular
rhyme of the period expressed the feelings of the people about him
and his dealings:

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

When Fanning first to Orange came
He looked both pale and wan,
An old patched coat upon his back,
An old mare he rode on.

Both man and mare warn't worth five pounds

As I've often been told;

But by his civil robberies

He's laced his coat with gold.17

There was trouble too over the titles to the land. Childs and
Corbin, who had succeeded Moseley and Halton as agents for the
Earl of Granville, contrived a scheme to extort money from the
settlers. These men claimed to have found a flaw in former patents,
which were signed, "Granville by his attorneys, Moseley and Hal-
ton." They claimed that they should have been signed, "The right
honorable Earl of Granville, by his attorneys etc."18 As a result,
the people were forced to take out new patents and of course pay
all of the fees over again. The closing of the Granville land grant
office in 1766, making it impossible any longer to secure titles to
the lands, was an added cause of trouble. All along, the people
insisted that they were loyal subjects of King George. The move-
ment, then, was an effort to redress grievances by forcible means,
something they had not been able to do by legal means. The po-
sition of the Regulators was clearly stated by James Pugh, the hero
of Alamance, and one of the six who were publicly hanged for
their part in the movement. Nash says that at his execution he
made no apology for his cause but boldly charged Tryon with
dereliction in duty in not siding with the people against the dis-
honest officials and urged him to dismiss the corrupt officials and
become a friend of the people whom he had come to govern.19

Governor Tryon had repeatedly recognized that the Regulators
had just grounds for complaint. In 1767 he wrote, "The Sheriffs
have embezzeled more than one-half of the public money ordered
to be raised and collected by them. ... in many instances Sheriffs
are insolvent or retreated out of the province."20 Yet the only
measures he took to correct the evils were to promise redress and
to urge the Assembly to pass laws that would correct the evils.

As time went on, the situation in Orange County grew steadily

REVEREND HENRY PATTILLO

worse. Many of the farmers made depositions against sheriffs and
sub-sheriffs: for example, one officer seized "eight large prime
deer skins"; another did "ketch one of his creatures"; "one came to
my house and broke open the roof of it and took a piece of linen
cloth; another seized "a Gunn valued at thirty two shillings." Also
there were charges of "false impressment," of "seizing a mare."21
The mounting resentment of the people was being inflamed by
the fanatical leadership of Herman Husband and others who were
holding public gatherings through the area urging the people to
collective resistance. Some of these meetings were held in the Haw-
fields. In the eyes of the Governor these meetings were assuming
the proportions of open rebellion, and from his point of view there
was nothing left for him to do except to call the militia to suppress
the movement. Many of those who had taken no part in these meet-
ings were in deep sympathy with the cause for which the Reg-
ulators stood.

A letter dated Sunday morning, April 17, 1768, from Francis
Nash and Thomas Hart to Edmund Fanning at Halifax, stated
that they had given orders for the several captains to raise their
companies and meet at Colonel Mebane's but that not above twelve
men appeared with arms, so great was the general resentment. This
failure led to the appointment of Captain Hart, Captain Thompson,
and Captain Mebane to deal with the Regulators and try to bring
them to reason. The letter went on to state that "we are creditably
informed that Mr. Strudwick's tenants almost to a man have en-
tered into an association among themselves to keep forcible pos-
session of his lands and for that purpose had a meeting yesterday
in the Haw Fields."22

When Governor Tryon reached Hillsboro with his militia he
found that the Regulators had answered his show of force by col-
lecting a band of men to meet him and that they were assembling
on the Alamance. Both Dr. Caldwell and Henry Pattillo made
valiant efforts to persuade both sides to come to some agreement
and not to resort to arms, but their efforts were in vain. Dr. Cald-
well was at Alamance and had just left the scene when the battle
began. The Governor took the position that the government could
not deal with subjects while they were in apparent open rebellion
and promised to see that justice was done if the Regulators would

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

first lay down their arms and return home. The Regulators, on
the other hand, who had been given worthless promises before, in-
sisted on a redress of grievances before they would disperse. This
was to the Governor a demand to surrender the authority of the
government, a demand he refused to meet. The result was the
tragic battle of Alamance on May 16, 1771.

After the defeat at Alamance the Regulation movement col-
lapsed, not because any issues had been settled, but because larger
and more menacing clouds were gathering. The Governor issued
a proclamation granting pardon to all who would come into camp,
surrender their arms, take the oath of allegiance to the King and
an oath of obligation to pay their taxes and to support and defend
the laws of the land.23 Exceptions however were made of so-called
outlaws, prisoners, and fourteen others. After the public execution
of the six prisoners in Hillsboro, the people, now utterly subdued,
flocked in to submit to the oath that the Governor exacted of them.
By June 19, more than three thousand had taken the oath.24 In
addition to the oath, on May 25, the Governor issued an order to
"Make Requisitions from settlements hereafter mentioned to furnish
the Army with the following Quantities of Provisions." Hawfields
was to furnish thirty steers and twenty barrels of flour.25

The severity of these acts on the part of the Governor was to
have far-reaching consequences in the days to come. When the
War of the Revolution broke out five years later, many of the men
who had ridden with Governor Tryon, and some who had com-
manded his militia, were found zealously recruiting forces among
these same men to resist the British. Basically the issue was the same
as that for which the Regulators had made such a gallant stand.

But, still more important, was the fact that some of the Regula-
tors who had taken a solemn oath, though under pressure, to sup-
port the government, felt it remained yet an oath and so respected
it and continued as neutrals. In 1775 and later it was this neutrality
of many of the people in Orange County together with the fact
that there was a small group of prominent Tories in Hillsboro that
gave Cornwallis the false impression that the whole area was in
sympathy with the British cause. Such was the turbulent era in
which Henry Pattillo had been called to serve.

REVEREND HENRY PATTILLO

The Hawfields, Eno, and Little River Pastorate
The Hawfields of Henry Pattillo's day extended far beyond the
bounds of the present-day congregation. It included all of the ter-
ritory between Hillsboro and the Haw River and from the New
Hope and Bethlehem communities to the Cross Roads community.
The location of the church put it within comparatively easy reach
of the Hillsboro community, and, until a church was organized
there, many of the Hillsboro people came to worship at Hawfields
or at Eno.26 Hillsboro was also one of Henry Pattillo's preaching
points, although a Presbyterian church was not organized there
until years later. So his congregations included not only the small
farmers, many of whom were in sympathy with the Regulator
movement, but also many of the prominent people who in one
way or another were connected with the government at Hillsboro.

Jesse Benton, who at one time was private secretary to Governor
Tryon, lived at what is now Efland and had large holdings of land
in the Hawfields. Samuel Strudwick, member of the Council and
a close friend of Governor Martin, lived close to the church, and,
though he may not have been connected with the church, his pres-
ence in the community was undoubtedly felt. Major John Butler
lived at "Mount Pleasant" on the east bank of Haw River above
Swepsonville, at what is now known as the Cad Albright place.
He was a prominent figure in politics and sheriff of the county in
1770. He was also one of those about whom the Regulators com-
plained. His brother William was a prominent Regulator. Alex-
ander Mebane, who was the first sheriff of the county, colonel of
the militia, and an elder in the Hawfields Church, lived just east
of the present town of Mebane; Thomas Hart, a prominent mer-
chant in Hillsboro, and colonel of militia, lived between the church
and Hillsboro — he, too, was at one time sheriff of the county. It
was said of him that he was "not a farthing out in his accounts."
In 1768, Nathaniel Rochester, who had studied under Henry Pat-
tillo at Hawfields, moved to Hillsboro and began his career as mer-
chant and leader in civic affairs. Later he founded the city of
Rochester, New York.27

In the summer of the next year James Hogg, a Scotsman of cul-
ture and comparative wealth, settled in the Hawfields at the place
that in later years came to be known as the J. S. Carr "Occoneechee

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Farms." His wife was the second cousin of the novelist Sir Walter
Scott.28 These were just a few of the prominent families who lived
within either the Eno or the Hawfields congregations. Some of
them were prominent Whigs who were in sympathy with the Reg-
ulators but who took no part in the movement. Others were staunch
Tories and belonged to the Established Church. Their presence
within the bounds of these congregations, whether they worshiped
there or not — and some of them did — made the Hawfields, Eno,
and Little River an important and outstanding area.

Hence the Hawfields to which Henry Pattillo came was exciting
and alive with activities. It has been estimated that between 1766
and 1772 the population of Orange County doubled. There was
considerable confusion among these newcomers because the Land
Grant office was closed in 1766, and it was impossible to secure titles
to land except when it was purchased from those who already held
titles. Also the Regulator movement had the whole area in a state
of ferment. Henry Pattillo lived on a farm a short distance south
of the church, near what is now the Hebron Methodist Church,
which placed him in about what was then the center of the Haw-
fields community.29 Once he was settled he took an active part in
the life of the community. Soon after his arrival he joined with a
group of farmers and businessmen from Hillsboro in presenting a
petition to the General Assembly, urging that a Public Inspection
Office be opened. The petition stated that the lack of such an office
was a great drawback to the agricultural development of the county,
particularly to the production of tobacco and hemp, for which the
soil of that area was best suited. The petition went on to point
out that they were having to transport these articles more than a
hundred miles to a market, without any assurance that the products
would then pass inspection. The petition was signed by twenty-five
names. Henry Pattillo's name is second on the list.30

Henry Pattillo and the Regulator Movement

Henry Pattillo had also to face the problem of the Regulator
movement. Many of Dr. Caldwell's members, especially those with-
in the bounds of Alamance congregation, just across the river, were
deeply involved. Elmer D. Johnson has made an interesting study
of the Regulators and has listed 883 names of people known to

REVEREND HENRY PATTILLO

have been active Regulators. Nine of these men can be located in
the Eno community. On the list are William Morrow and Richard
Webb, who probably belonged to the Bethlehem community; Wil-
liam Butler, who lived near Swepsonville ; and John Hart, who
lived near Hillsboro. Others on the list are Philip Shaw, Sr., and
Philip Shaw, Jr.; Robert and Samuel Thompson; William Ward,
Sr., and William Ward, Jr.; and George, John, and Thomas Wil-
son.31 All of these are familiar Hawfields names; but they were
also common names in other sections, so it is impossible to identify
them definitely with the Hawfields people. Whether or not many
of the people had actively joined the movement, the marching of
the Regulators on Hillsboro meant that they were passing back
and forth through the very heart of the congregation and certainly
kept the people in a state of excitement.

To meet this situation the four Presbyterian ministers, within
the bounds of whose congregations the movement was most active,
met at Hawfields Church in August, 1768, and drew up two famous
letters, one addressed to the Governor and the other addressed to
the members of their respective congregations. The letter to Gov-
ernor Tryon gives a clear statement of the attitude the Presbyterian
Church was taking toward the movement:

To His Excellency William Tryon Esq're Captain General & Commander
in Chief in and over the Province of North Carolina.

Sir:—

We the subscribers His Majesty's ever dutiful and loyal Subjects Pres-
byterian Ministers in this Province beg leave to approach your Ex-
cellency with cordial professions of unshaken duty and loyalty to His
Majesty's sacred Person and Government and to testify our duty and
ready submission to the Laws of this Province and to your Excellency's
Administration.

With these sentiments glowing in our breasts, we cannot but express
our abhorance of the present turbulent and disorderly spirit that shows
itself in some parts of this province, and we beg leave to assure your
Excellency that we will exert our utmost abilities to prevent the infection
spreading among the People of our charge, and among the whole Pres-
byterian body in this Province as far as our influence will extend.

We humbly hope your Excellency has found but a very small pro-
portion of the People of our Denomination among the present Insur-

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

gents, and we assure you Sir, i£ any such there are, they have departed
from the invariable Principles of their Profession, which some bred in
this wilderness, for want of proper Instruction, may be supposed ig-
norant of.

Fully sensible of the happiness of our situation in point of Religious
Liberty, we shall not fail at all times to inculcate and proclaim the glori-
ous and catholic doctrine of Faith, Piety, Virtue and Loyalty so as best
to promote the glory of our Divine Master, the best Interest of mankind,
the Honor of His Majesty's Government, and the ease and comfort of
your Excellency's Administration.

We congratulate our Country Sir, that while your Excellency steadily
refuses to grant anything on compulsion to the demands of unreasonable
men you have at the same time made the cause of the poor so much
your own, as to ensure to them the redress of any greviance they may
labor under in the way prescribed by the Laws of their Country.

That Heaven may bless your Excellency, the other branches of this
Legislature, and the whole body of this Province, that all parties of
Christians may unite as one man to strengthen your hands at this Season,
That you may weather the Storm with dignity to yourself and Govern-
ment, and compassion to the deluded, and unwary, and be long con-
tinued among us a Pattern, and Patron of Virtue, and Piety, Stead-
fastness and Condescension is the sincere Prayer of

Your Excellency's most Obedient
and most humble Servants.

Hugh McCaddon
James Creswell
Henry Pattillo
Dav'd Caldwell

Hawfields 23d August 1768.32

At this same meeting the following letter was prepared to be
read from all their pulpits to their assembled congregations.

Letter from the Presbyterian Pastors to the Presbyterian Inhabitants
of North Carolina.

Dear Brethren,

It is with great concern and regret that we view the present Op-
position to Order, Law and Government in sundry parts of this Province,
and it is with equal concern that we find ourselves unable to assert with
truth, that not one of our Profession is engaged in it; it is however our
hope and wish, that the number of regular Presbyterians among the

REVEREND HENRY PATTILLO

present Insurgents is very small, and to those who may have been
seduced from peaceable Deportment and Loyalty of their Profession
and Ancestors, we affectionately address ourselves as followeth,

We consider the scattered & destitute situation of the Presbyterian
Church in this Province through the scarcity of Ministers, and the an-
nual increase of our vacant Congregations, and tho' there are now a
few Ministers setded among you, and the reverend Synod of New York
and Philadelphia have heard your unfortunate Intreaties, and sent you
annual supplies for some years past, yet it must be confessed there are
sundry, especially of the younger sort who have been bred up in this
Wilderness, ignorant of the Principles and Practices of their Ancestors,
which we can assure them have always evidenced a zealous attachment
to the Protestant Succession in the present royal Family, and a spirited
opposition to every measure concerted at home or abroad, to shake the
present happy Establishment and this on the principles strictly enjoined
by the Westminister Confession of Faith and Catechism.

We are sensible the movers of the present Insurrection have put the
cry of King, Loyalty, Allegiance, into the mouths of their unwary Ad-
herents; which doubtless was the snare that caught you and many others,
but we earnestly recommend to you to consider, that the opposition is
directly levelled against Government and Law; for the Oath is what the
Law nowhere prescribes, and that Oath to do unlawful things viz: to
call Officers to a Settlement, in a way the Law has not allowed, and
lastly that Oath is taken not to pay their Taxes, expressly contrary to
the Laws of our Country, and the plain word of God. These things
should detach every loyal Subject from them especially as you are
assured by the Governor's Proclamation that Justice will be done on all
that have oppressed you on proper complaint, by a due course of Law.

Should any object that they are bound by this Oath, we answer, Such
Persons have involved themselves in guilt by taking such an unlawful
Oath, and greater guilt will be upon them if they keep it, We therefore
tenderly sympathizing with such do recommend to them Repentence for
taking that Oath, and give it as our opinion that it ought to be broken.
We pity, we compassionate the poor, and share with them in all their
distress, but remember Brethren the remedy for Oppression is within
the Compass of the Laws of your Country. Let such of you therefore
as have been drawn into this unhappy confederacy, return immediately
to your Duty and Loyalty, remembering the Divine Authority that has
enjoined, "Let every soul be subject to the Higher powers, for there
is no Power but of God; the Powers that be are ordained of God.
Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the Ordinance of God,

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation; Wherefore
ye must needs be subject for Conscience sake; For this cause pay your
Tribute, also rendering to all their dues; Tribute to whom tribute is due
etc.," Rom. 13th.

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of Man for the Lord's sake,
whether it be to the King as supreme, or unto Governors as those that
are sent by him for the Punishment of Evil Doers, and for the Praise
of them that do well. And We earnestly recommend to the whole
Presbyterian Body, in this Province a Spirit of Loyalty and cheerful
Obedience to Law and Government, that you may transmit to your
Posterity the reputation you derived from your Ancestors, secure the
continuance of your Civil and Religious liberties, and merit the future
notice and indulgence of the Legislature; that you may all live soberly,
righteously and Godly as the dutiful Servants of Jesus Christ, is the
hearty prayer of your ready Servants and Affectionate Pastors.

Hugh McCaddon
Henry Pattillo
James Crestwell
David Caldwell33

These letters signed by these four men put them publicly on record
as determined to use all of their influence against the movement.
The letters would seem to indicate too that while many of the
Presbyterians were in active sympathy with the ends which the
Regulators were trying to achieve, only a small number were as yet
actively engaged in the movement.

A month later Henry Pattillo was actively engaged in the effort
to suppress the Regulators by preaching to the Governor's troops
who were assembled at Hillsboro.

Hillsboro Camp, Sunday 25th Sept. 1768

It is ordered that the Reverend Mr. Micklejohn and Mr. Pattillo have
thanks for sermons preached to the troops.34

Mr. Micklejohn was the minister of the Church of England sta-
tioned at Hillsboro, the seat of St. Matthew's parish.35

At each meeting of Hanover Presbytery appointments were made
for the various ministers to supply for one or more Sundays in
each of the vacant churches and preaching points within the bounds
of the presbytery. This involved long, hard trips of many miles on

REVEREND HENRY PATTILLO

horseback, taking Henry Pattillo away from his home and family
for days at a time.

The Organization of Orange Presbytery
The most important ecclesiastical event that happened in the
life of the old log church during Henry Pattillo's ministry was the
organization of Orange Presbytery. When Hanover Presbytery met
on March 7, 1770, the members agreed to appoint Mr. Alexander to
carry the following letter to the synod:

To the Rev'd Synod of New York and Philadelphia to assemble in
May 1770.

Rev's Fathers and Brethren, the Distance we live from the usual Session
of the Pby of Hanover, and the impossibility thence arising of our reg-
ular attendance on it, our living in the Province of N. Carolina where
the affairs of Church and State require our acting with that Vigour
unanimity and authority which is impossible for us to do in our present
single and detached Situation, renders it indispensibly necessary for us
to apply ourselves to the Rev'd Synod, requesting, that we may be erected
into a Presbytery by the name of ye Presbytery of Orange, the name
of the County in which two of our Members are settled, and that our
first Meeting may be at the Haw-fields, on the first Wednesday of
September next ensuing.

We flatter ourselves that the Rev'd Synod will at once comprehend ye
Expediency of complying with the Requisition, and therefore shall wave
every Argument, which if necessary, will be presented by our Brother
Mr. Alexander in its favour who waits on you with this, Praying that
the divine Wisdom may preside amongst you, we are

Rev'd Sirs,

Your dutiful Sons

Affectionate Brethren &
Most hum'l Servants.

David Caldwell
Hugh M'Aden
Joseph Alexander
Henry Patillo
Hezekiah Balch
James Campbell

This Pby concurred with that Request, and have instructed the Clark,
to write to the Synod in Favor of the same, in case he could find a safe
Medium of Conveyance. Concluded with Prayer.36

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

The Synod of New York and Philadelphia met in New York City
on May 18, 1770, and on May 24,

A petition from some members of Hanover Presbytery, requesting that
they may be erected into a distinct Presbytery, was brought in and read.
The Synod agree to grant the prayer of the said petition, and the Rev.
Mr. Hugh McCadden, Henry Pattillo, James Criswell, Joseph Alexander,
Hezekiah James Balch, and Hezekiah Balch, are erected into a Pres-
bytery, to be known by the name of the Presbytery of Orange, in North
Carolina, and that their first meeting be at the Hawfields the first Wed-
nesday of September next, and that the Rev. Henry Pattillo open the
Presbytery with a sermon.37

The meeting on Wednesday, September 5, 1770, was a historic
occasion in the life of the old church, and in spite of the unsettled
times the little church must have been filled to watch the ceremony
as these men solemnly organized themselves into Orange Presbytery,
with Henry Pattillo as the moderator and David Caldwell as clerk.
Orange Presbytery, as it was then organized, included all of the
territory south of the Virginia line. When the synod met the next
spring it recorded, "It is reported to us that the Brethren of North
Carolina, who requested last Synod to be set off as a Presbytery by
the name of the Orange Presbytery, have met and proceeded to
business agreeably to the order of Synod."38

Unfortunately, the minutes of Orange Presbytery for the first
twenty-five years of her history were burned in the home of Dr.
John Witherspoon near Hillsboro on January 1, 1827, so there is
no record of those early years.39 Also the early minutes of Hawfields
Church have perished and there are, similarly, no records of the
membership when Henry Pattillo came or of its growth during his
ministry. The whole period, however, was one of rapid growth
and development, and it may be assumed that both the church and
the presbytery shared in this growth. Dr. McCorkle and Dr. Hall,
in the western part of the state, and Dr. Caldwell and Henry Pat-
tillo, in the central part, stood out as profound scholars, able states-
men, and staunch patriots during the struggle for American Inde-
pendence.

Presbyterians have always emphasized the importance of edu-
cation; Henry Pattillo, like all of the early Presbyterian ministers,
conducted a school at his home in connection with his many other

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REVEREND HENRY PATTILLO 69

activities. In recognition of his ability and interest in education,
he was appointed by the General Assembly of 1771 as one of the
trustees who were to found Queen's Museum, in Charlotte, to elect
a president for the institution, and to secure an endowment for its
support. Mr. Edmund Fanning of Hillsboro was elected the first
president. Funds for the support of the college were to be raised
by a tax of sixpence per gallon on all rum or other spiritous liquors
brought into Mecklenburg County for the next ten years.40 How-
ever, the war came and the school never opened. It was incorpo-
rated in 1777 by the legislature as Liberty Hall.

In 1773, Henry Pattillo resigned from the Hawfields, Eno, and
Little River churches, and Hawfields lost not only its first but
perhaps greatest and, certainly, most colorful minister in all of its
long history.

Henry Pattillo and the Provincial Congress

During the six years that intervened between Henry Pattillo's
resignation of his pastorate at Hawfields, Eno, and Little River
and his acceptance of the call to the Nut Bush and Grassy Creek
congregations, he lived in Bute County and devoted his time largely
to the development of a famous academy there. One incident that
happened during these years brought Henry Pattillo back within
the bounds of his old congregation, not as a minister, but as a mem-
ber of the famous Third Provincial Congress, which met in Hills-
boro in 1775.41

Two years after he had moved away from Hawfields, he was
elected a representative from Bute County (now Warren and Frank-
lin counties) to the Provincial Congress, and he at once became
one of the prominent figures in that meeting. After the Congress
was organized a resolution was passed, "that colonel Francis Nash
wait on the Rev. George Micklejohn and request that he attend
and perform divine services." There is no record of how the High-
Church Tory responded to the request of this revolutionary assem-
bly, but the record states that the Reverend Henry Pattillo was
appointed to open each day's session with prayer.42

When the communication from the General Congress in Phila-
delphia was presented to this meeting for consideration, "The
Congress, resolved into a committee of the whole . . . accordingly

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

and unanimously chose the Reverend Mr. Pattillo Chairman."43 The
resolution they framed showed that North Carolina was not yet
ready to break with the mother country and urged that further
efforts be made towards reconciliation. As chairman, Henry Pat-
tillo no doubt played a large part in framing the wording of that
resolution.

The Congress also set up a committee of thirteen "to confer
with such of the Inhabitants of the Province, who entertain any re-
ligious or political Scruples, with respect to associating in the com-
mon cause of America." Apparently the Tories had been at work
among the Regulators, urging them that the oath of allegiance
that they had taken under Tryon was still binding and that they
should remain neutral.

It was a strange committee that they appointed to deal with
the Regulators to try to persuade them to break their oath of al-
legiance to the King. Among the thirteen were "Caswell whose
bayonet had forced the oaths down their throats, Pattillo, who, with
the other Presbyterian Pastors in the Province, had addressed a
laudatory letter to Tryon and a denunciatory one to their congre-
gations about the crime of being a Regulator, and the Moore who
had been on the court that convicted twelve of the Regulators of
treason and sentenced them to death."44 Pattillo was also appointed
a member of the Committee of Safety for the district of Halifax.
At the next meeting of the Congress he was appointed a trustee
for the establishment of an Academy in Granville County.

Educator Henry Pattillo

Perhaps Henry Pattillo's greatest contribution was in the field
of education, both religious and secular, although the two were
never separate in his mind. He himself was a finished classical
scholar. Among his few extant papers there is a notebook written
in Latin.45 In another notebook there is his exegesis of some Greek
passages from the New Testament. He wrote in a clear, beautiful
hand, still easy to read in the now faded manuscripts. A number
of his sermon manuscripts have survived, and they are models of
logical exposition in accord with the correct standards of that day.
However, they do sound stilted and artificial to the modern reader.

Among the papers there are several that indicate Pattillo's con-

REVEREND HENRY PATTILLO

cern for the religious education of the members of his large and
scattered congregation. One of these is entitled, "Address to Heads
of Families." It begins, "My Friends and Brethren: I consider the
station in which divine Providence has placed you as the most im-
portant in life." The paper then continues with a discussion of the
blessings which the American people enjoy and the responsibilities
that these blessings entail, especially to heads of families. It is in
the form of a pastoral letter. How it was intended to be used is
not clear. Perhaps it was preached as a sermon to his various con-
gregations, although he may have planned to have it printed and
circulated among his members; evidently this was never done. It
concludes with the following recommendation:

I earnesdy recommend to every head of a family among us, to enrich
themselves with Dr. Watt's three sets of catechisms composed by that
happy genius for the use of children, before they go on to the West-
minster catechisms. But as only few among us may be thus provided,
and as the instruction of our families admit of no delay, I would at-
tempt something of this kind, for the assistance of my plain planters,
though I do it with a trembling hand, and great discouragement.46

Teacher as he was, he set down some of the aims that a good
catechism should attempt to achieve. The summary of aims is fol-
lowed by a copy of his "The Youth's Catechism," which follows in
the main the Westminster catechism's teaching in ninety questions
and answers. It begins:

Q. I. Can you tell me who made you?

A. The Almighty God who made all things.47

As a minister, Pattillo was concerned about the religious instruc-
tion of the Negro slaves within his congregation. And following
the youth's catechism, he wrote a simpler one for Negro children.
It is shorter and contains only thirty-eight questions. This was a
unique idea, and it shows an insight into the Negro problem far
in advance of his day.

Q. 1. Do you know who made the Negroes?
A. The same God that made all things.

Q. 2. Do you think white folks and Negroes all came from one
Father?

A. Yes, I should think so.

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS
What makes you think so?

Because except the black skin and curled head their bodies
are just alike, within and without.

Q. 37. Which do you think the happiest person, the master or the
slave ?

A. When I rise in a cold morning, to make a fire, and my
master in bed; or when I work the field in a hot day, and
my master sits in the shade, I think he is happier than I am.

Q. 38. Do you ever think you are happier than he ?

A. Yes: when I come in from my work, eat my hearty supper,
worship my maker, lie down without any care on my mind.48

In congregations as large and widely scattered as Henry Pattillo's,
there was a definite need for religious activities other than the
stated preaching services that occurred once a month or, at most,
twice a month. To meet this need he organized for each church
what he called "Christian Societies or Fellowship-meetings." These
were the fore-runners of our modern church organizations. While
he was pioneering he also drew up the following set of rules for
the organization of these societies and for the manner in which
they were to be conducted.

1. The design of which should be to promote the glory of God, our own
improvement in Christian knowledge, for the quickening ourselves and
others in the good ways of God, for the promoting of brotherly love,
and Christian communion and Charity, and to endeavor the revival
of religion.

2. The persons to be admitted are those who agree in their religious senti-
ments, whose situation is the most convenient to each other, whose
number is two or three or more, who shall evidence by their behaviour,
that they have a reverence of God upon their mind, that they are ready
to give or to receive improvement — and that they promote the design
of the society as well present or absent, and when they are inclined to
withdraw themselves to give their reason with modesty and withdraw
accordingly.

3. As to the time of meeting, they will generally be such Lord's day as
publik worship is not convenient and such other times as each society
shall judge best suits their conveniency, and is most for their edi-
fication.

REVEREND HENRY PATTILLO

4. The exercises to be carried on in these societies, are prayer,
praise, reading at least one chapter of the Old or of the New Testa-
ment, and other good books, and speaking to the questions proposed
at the last meeting which shall generally be two, to be considered at
betwix meetings. But if any of the society have any case of con-
science to propose, or want the help of the society in any temptation
or difficulty on leave modestly asked and obtained, let it be spoken to.

5. The person who is to preside or lead in the worship is to be chosen by
each society, either one stated leader, or to take it in turn, as may be
judged best to the general edification.

6. If any member of the society behave indecently at the society, or un-
becoming the Christian character at other times or places, the society
is to warn and reprove them, in the spirit of meekness, and if they
persist in their unchristian conduct, after two or three admonitions, and
prayer to God for their reformation, they must be excluded by a vote
of the society; for we are to withdraw ourselves from every brother
that walks disorderly, and to have no fellowship with the works of
darkness, but rather to reprove them. And persons thus excluded
shall not enjoy sealing ordinances in the church until they are re-
stored; for which a door shall always be left open, on their giving
proper evidence of repentance and reformation.

As to the female sex, who have frequendy more virtue and less vice
than the males, and are surely capable of as great attainments in a
religious temper and life, they are to be admitted present at any of
the societies, yet they are not to usurp authority over the man by
leading in the worship, nor to ask nor answer questions in the society,
but may have any question they wish to hear spoken to asked by a
Christian friend.49

Like all of the early Presbyterian ministers in central and western
Carolina in colonial days, Henry Pattillo believed that only an
educated people could remain a free people and become qualified
for self-government. It was for this reason that he devoted a part
of his ministry exclusively to education. He began his teaching
career in Virginia even before he began to study for the ministry,
and after leaving Hawfields he devoted himself to education for
about six years before accepting his last pastorate. For a time he
conducted a classical school at Williamsboro, and later he taught
at Granville Hall, which was incorporated by the state in 1779.

In recognition of his scholastic attainments, Hampden-Sydney

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

College conferred upon him the honorary degree of M.A. in 1787,
and the state legislature on two occasions appointed him to the
boards of trustees of two institutions under consideration for or-
ganization. An interesting observation on education is found in his
will:

It is further my will, that my children should share my little estate
among them, as nearly equal as may be, except in the education of my
sons; and if any of them are incapable of, or much disinclined to an
education, and would chuse to be bound out to any trade, let it be done
accordingly, for learning cannot be attained by compulsion in opposi-
tion to nature and inclination.50

Because opportunities for publication were limited in the min-
ister's day, most of his writings are found only in manuscript form.
In 1788 he published a small volume which contained three of his
sermons and two other essays: "On the Division among Christians";
"On the Necessity of Regeneration to Future Happiness"; "The
Scriptural Doctrine of Election"; "Extracts of a Letter from Mr.
Whitefield to Mr. Wesley"; and "An Address to the Deists." It
was printed in Wilmington by James Adams, for the author.

He also published a sermon on the death of General Washing-
ton, but no copies have survived.

His only other publication — the most interesting of them all —
was his Geographical Catechism, published in 1796. This little book
has considerable historical importance because it was the first text-
book to be published in North Carolina. The title page reads:

A geographical catechism/To assist those who have neither Maps nor
Gazetteers, To read newspapers, history or travels/ With as much of
The SCIENCE OF ASTRONOMY, and the doctrine of the air, As
is judged sufficient for the farmer, who wishes to understand something
of The Works of god, around him/And for the studious youth, who
have or have not a prospect of further prosecuting those sublime
sciences.

The book was first published by Abraham Hodge of Halifax, North
Carolina.

In the Preface he gives the following reasons for publishing
the book, which is sixty-two pages long. "What put it in the way
of question and answer, was, I intended three young lads then

REVEREND HENRY PATTILLO

under my care, should commit it to memory." The second reason
was "that as news-papers are happily and pretty generally circulated
among us, there must be many honest farmers and their families
who must be ignorant of many countries, towns, rivers and seas
mentioned in them, and my book will enable them to read with
more intelligence." The third reason was designed to counteract
Deistic ideas, which were then becoming rather widespread in the
Provinces, and "to attempt to lead common readers to some more
just conception of the divine works." And, candidly, "If I did not
add a fourth inducement for publishing, my reader would for me.
I did, and still do hope my book may bring me in a few dollars,
which will be welcome guests when they arrive."51

The little book, like any textbook, is the result of the author's
experience in the classroom, and it reveals clearly and distinctly
the methods of teaching in his time. And so, with question and
answer, he leads his "three lads" to distant lands and through the
colonies of their own country. And on nearly every page he puts
into his answers a humble reverence for God. There are 104 ques-
tions with answers. The answer to question 103 ends in this way:

We come to a land in all its youthful vigour; undebilitated by the
luxury, vices and old age of the eastern nations: a country in which the
Laws rule and not men; where life and Property are in perfect security,
and where the happy inhabitants may confide in those who legislate,
in those who rule, and in those who Judge; because they can remove
them all at their pleasure. A country in which religion is unrestrained;
mortality in repute; education promoted; marriage honourable, and age
reverenced.

Q. 104. Pray sir, where lies this terrestial paradise?

A. Within the limits of the united states; and the spot you stand
on, makes a part of it. . . .

The answer to question 104 continues with a glowing description
of the struggle for Independence and a detailed description of each
of the states.52

The Nut Bush and Grassy Cree\ Pastorate

In 1780, Henry Pattillo accepted a call to the Nut Bush and
Grassy Creek congregations and remained with them until his

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

death in 1801. In 1784 the elders of these two churches presented
him with a farm of three hundred acres on Spicemarrow Creek,
as he said, "on the express condition of my continuing till death or
disability, the minister of said congregations." In 1787 he was ap-
pointed by the Provincial Congress to a board of trustees responsible
for setting an academy in Warrenton. The funds for this academy
were to be raised by a lottery.

Henry Pattillo's last will was written on December 19, 1800, the
year before he died. It reveals something of the love and esteem in
which he was held by the people of his congregations. They had
given him the farm on which he lived, but very late in life he went
into debt and all of his possessions were sold to satisfy his creditors.
This is an explanation of the following paragraph in his will:

As all my effects were disposed of at public sale, except my books, book
case and watch; and as a number of dear and very generous friends
purchased nearly the whole, and left them with me, probably with no
intention of ever demanding them again, unless the negro boy Peter
be an exception, who was paid for by a subscription of kind friends;
if the subscribers should demand their money, the negro must be sold,
and payment made. If not, I give and bequeath Negro Peter to my
son John F. Pattillo, and to his heirs forever. And if any kind purchaser
demand the commodity they bought at my sale, let them be restored with
gratitude for the loan. The cattle must be an exception, for they are
dead with the murrain.53

Nowhere did Henry Pattillo list the names or dates of birth of
his children. There is a reference in his diary to the birth of his
first child, a daughter, on February 2, 1757, but her name is not
given. The following children are mentioned in his two wills, but
there is no indication as to whether these are all the children he
had or of their ages.

Ann, who married Col. Richard Harrison
Henry

Mildred [Milly]
John Franklin

A daughter who married Robert Samer [Somer]

The names "Polly Pattillo" and "Anderson Pattillo" appear on the
fly leaf of his Latin notebook.

REVEREND HENRY PATTILLO 77

Only two of Henry Pattillo's letters to his wife have survived
and one of them is undated.

Monday noon

This will inform my Dearest love, that being pressed beyond measure
to stay and marry a friend on Thursday morning, I shall not reach
Mr. Young's till Friday noon. I have been and am quite well but Milly
and Maj. Smith employ much of my cares. To God and his sparing
mercy I wish to commit them. I have not seen Mr. Johnston, but by
the order I saw, it is at the shop. You need not expect it on Friday.
This will come open thro' various friends' hands to remove your ap-
prehensions. If you can get to J. Young's on Friday [line blurred] You
know your reception from

Your Affect' Henry Pattillo.54

The wedding mentioned might possibly be the one mentioned by
Mr. Dullon: "that having published the bans between Jno. Stray-
horn and Elizabeth Johnston, he [Pattillo] united them in marriage
sometime before the Revolutionary War."55 If so, it would put the
origin of the letter in New Hope a few miles from the "shop"
referred to above. The second letter was written in a home in Haw-
fields where he had apparently stopped over with friends on his
return from a meeting of Orange Presbytery somewhere beyond
the Yadkin River.

Hawfields 6th June 1782

My Dearest.

We are here on our return in safety. Let it be still your consolation
and mine in my absence that I am employed for our common master
and live not in vain.

O my love were my success equal to my popularity, what a happy
husband would you have. Springer blest my ears with the acct' of your
happenings and indeed you must be happy while you lean on such a
bosom.

The great increase of blood flowed too much to my head at Yadkin,
but I have eat and drank sparingly and been bled this morning and
feel right well. We rode 45 miles the first day and Milly not at all
tired she longs to be home. Remember me in the kindest manner to the
Children. Look for me next Wednesday. Yours to your wish.56

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Henry Pattillo died in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, where he
had gone on a preaching mission in 1801.57 His funeral service was
conducted by the Reverend Drury Lacy, who took as his text, "For
none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For
whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we
die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the
Lord's" (Romans 14:7-8).

As was the custom in those days, the sermon was in the form
of a eulogy on the man's life and work. In the course of his sermon,
Dr. Lacy dwelt upon Henry Pattillo's dedication to the service of
Christ, his untiring zeal in carrying on his work, his public prayers,
his ability as a preacher of the Gospel, his pastoral visitations and
wise counseling, and upon his talent for encouraging friendship.58
Unfortunately, Foote does not give the place in Dinwiddie County
where Henry Pattillo died, and no other source reveals the place of
his burial.

CHAPTER V

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

I776-I79I

It is impossible to determine the exact dates when Henry Pat-
tillo resigned and when his young successor was installed pastor of
the large territory because the early records of Orange Presbytery
have been lost. William Henry Foote, to whom we owe much of
our knowledge of this early period, records Henry Pattillo's resig-
nation in 1774, the date given on the memorial tablets at Hawfields
Church. But he must have been in error about the exact date, for
when the Synod of New York and Philadelphia met on May 19,
1773, we find an entry suggesting an earlier date in the minutes
of the synod: "Applications were presented for supplies from the
Hawfields and Eno in North Carolina, and from St. Paul's parish
in Georgia; in answer to which we appoint Mr. John Simpson and
Mr. Caleb Wallace, candidates to supply in the former places as
much as they conveniently can before the next Synod."1

When the synod met the next year, New Brunswick Presbytery
reported that they had licensed John DeBow and that John DeBow
and Samuel McCorkle, both probationers, were appointed "to go to
the southward, as soon as they conveniently can, and supply under
the direction of the Presbyteries of Hanover and Orange, each of
them one whole year at least." The next spring John DeBow re-
ported that he had not gone to the south as he had been directed;
"the reasons for the omission were sustained."2 Unfortunately the
records do not give the reasons for his failure to carry out the di-
rections of the synod.

In October, 1774, the Associated Reformed Presbytery met in
New York, and at the meeting a petition for "a supply of sermons
from Hawfields and Ennoe" was laid before the presbytery.3 This

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

was not the first time these two churches had approached the As-
sociated Reformed Presbyterian Church (which is commonly spoken
of today in North and South Carolina as the ARP church) for
supplies. Twice before Henry Pattillo came to be their minister,
they had turned to that church for help. This excursion into a
different branch of the Presbyterian church raises some interesting
and tantalizing questions. Was this the disorder which Spencer
and McWhorter were sent to correct in 1764, the year before Henry
Pattillo became their minister; and were there Associated Reformed
Presbyterians among the early settlers in Hawfields and on the Eno ?

The Synod of New York and Philadelphia met in New York
on May 17, 1775, and directed "Mr. DeBow to supply nine months
amongst the Carolina vacancies before the next meeting of Synod
under the care of the Presbytery of Orange." The next spring, May
22, 1776, New Brunswick Presbytery "ordained Mr. DeBow to the
work of the Gospel Ministry."4 When he was officially seated,
DeBow reported that he had fulfilled the mission to Carolina to
which he had been appointed the year before, and also made an
appeal on behalf of North Carolina for supplies.

The Reverend John DeBow, 1775 — 1783

The DeBows were descended from Hendrik deBoog of Amster-
dam, Holland. Two of his sons and two daughters emigrated to
New Amsterdam about 1649, and in the new country they changed
their name to DeBow. In 1753, one of the descendents, Solomon
DeBow, came to North Carolina and settled on the Hyco River
near Red House in Caswell County and became a planter of con-
siderable means. His son John, who was born in New Jersey before
the family moved to North Carolina, graduated from Princeton in
1772 and for a short time was pastor of the Oxford and Mount
Bethel churches in New Jersey.5

John DeBow must have come to the Hawfields during the sum-
mer or fall of 1775. It appears that he entered at once into the life
of his congregation because when Colonel John Butler and his
militia, which included the men from the Hawfields and Eno com-
munities, were sent on the expedition to Moore's Creek in February,
1776, DeBow accompanied the troops as their chaplain. When the
Provincial Congress met at Halifax in November of that year, a

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

resolution concerning payment to him was passed: "Resolved, that
the Rev. John DeBow be allowed fifteen pounds and ten shillings
for acting as chaplain to Col. Butler's detachment of militia, on
our expedition to Cross Creek against the Tories."6

After the defeat of the Tories at Moore's Creek, Caruthers wrote
the following account of what happened in the Hawfields Church.

Following the battle of Moore's Creek, services were held in the Haw-
fields Church, and a sermon preached to a large and earnest congrega-
tion. There was a man present by the name of James Hodge, if I mis-
take not, who had been in the battle of Moore's Creek, and was an eye
witness to the part performed by Caswell and others. When the preacher,
Mr. DeBow, was dwelling with much warmth on the evidence of an
overruling Providence in that crisis of our political destiny, and on the
reasons we had to be thankful to the Almighty for giving us that victory,
Hodge rose up in some excitement and said, 'Well if this is the way
that God Almighty is to have all the credit, and Dick Caswell none,
I'll not stay here any longer,' and immediately left the congregation.7

When DeBow came to his new pastorate, steps were taken by
Orange Presbytery to divide this field, which had now become too
large for one man traveling on horseback to cover effectively. About
1777 a new field, consisting of the Hillsboro, Little River, and New
Hope churches was created, and the Reverend Alexander McMillan
was put in charge. However, McMillan had only been on the field
a year or so before he got into trouble and had to leave the com-
munity.8 He was later dismissed from the ministry by the presby-
tery, and John DeBow was left with the large, rambling field for
the remainder of his ministry.

No roster of the men of Hawfields who served in the army
during the Revolution has been preserved, and the only way of
identifying those who did is through the Pension Office in Raleigh,
but the records even then are not complete because not all of the
men applied for pensions. But it is safe to say that practically all
of the Hawfields men of military age served either in the Conti-
nental Line or in the militia. Enlistments in the Continental Line
were for one year and in the militia for six months or for particular
engagements. Most of the men were at home between enlistments.9
In addition to General Butler, four of Alexander Mebane's sons
were officers. Robert was a colonel in the Continental Line and

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

the hero of the battle of Cane Creek, James held the rank of cap-
tain, and John entered the war as a captain and rose to colonel, and
William was a captain in the militia. The youngest son, David,
also served two terms in the militia.

Alexander Mebane, Sr., was too old to serve in the army, but
he helped by using his grist mills to supply food for the army.
He is thought to have been one of the first elders in Hawfields
church. Another elder, Andrew Murdock, was actively engaged in
collecting supplies for the army and also served in the militia.
The Revolutionary War records in Raleigh mention "Voucher 2923-
for militia service ^57,2 s — Andrew Murdock."10 On a number of
occasions in the history of the conflict, the men from Hawfields
are mentioned for their heroic stands. Orange County's quota for
militia was three hundred men to fight the Cherokees in the west-
ern part of the state who had been stirred up by the British. Among
the officers mentioned are "Drummer, Jacob Albright," who would
have descendants in the present Hawfields Church.

Dr. Craig relates an incident in connection with the New Hope
Church which in all probability was connected in some way with
the disturbance among the Cherokees. One morning while John
DeBow was preaching, he observed quite a number of Indians
approach and suddenly halt before the church. DeBow abruptly
closed the service and, lighting his pipe, walked quietly out amid the
confused and frightened congregation to meet the Indians. The pipe
was offered to the leader of the group, who received it and smoked
it and handed it back to the minister, after which they departed as
quietly as they had come. Craig gives evidence of the truth of this
story.11 These Indians must have been simply passing through,
because no Indians had lived in that part of the country for many
years.

Cornwallis at Hills boro

Hawfields' greatest suffering during the war came in the years
1780 and 1781. Hillsboro, which was just ten miles to the east of
the church, had at that time become the focal point for the military
activities of the state for collecting both troops and supplies for the
Revolutionary Army. In the spring of 1780, Baron DeKalb halted
there on his way to the relief of Charleston, South Carolina, and

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

his two thousand hungry soldiers practically exhausted all of the
provisions of the community before they moved on southward.12

He was soon followed by General Gates, who made Hillsboro
his headquarters for collecting troops and supplies. His hungry
soldiers pillaged the countryside. Although the Board of War, sit-
ting at Hillsboro, had issued certificates to be given to those from
whom grain was taken for the support of the army, wandering
bands often took grain and livestock without bothering to issue
certificates. In August, General Gates suffered a disastrous defeat
at Camden, South Carolina, and, designating Hillsboro as their
meeting place, he and his shattered army fled northward. The
whole countryside was soon overrun by soldiers, and many clashes
between soldiers and civilians ensued.13 In November, General
Gates moved his army toward Salisbury, and the community at-
tempted to settle down in peace and quiet.

Except for the strenuous effort to sustain the army, and for the
absence of the men from the community for the short periods of
their enlistments in the army and militia, community life flowed
on as usual. They had always been dependent upon their own in-
genuity, and the war had brought no great changes in their way of
living. The year 1780 had disrupted their usual calm, however, and
the year 178 1 was destined to bring even greater disaster to the
Hawfields.

The famous retreat of General Greene across the state to the
Dan River took place in early February. Cornwallis, in his effort
to overtake Greene and destroy his army, had destroyed all of his
excess baggage and supplies along the way. Now, baffled in his
attempt to overtake General Greene, he retreated through Caswell
County to Hillsboro to add recruits to his army and to replenish
his supplies. He had been led to believe that there was a large Tory
element in Hillsboro and that, because there were many Regulators
in southern Orange who had remained neutral in the conflict, all
of these would flock to his support. He forcibly collected supplies
from about the countryside, including the Hawfields, but he gained
few recruits for his army.

Spring came early in 178 1, and the fruit trees were beginning
to bloom when Cornwallis marched into Hillsboro with his two
thousand (some estimate the number to have been as many as

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

twenty-four hundred) troops, with little or no supplies, on Feb-
ruary 20.14 The next morning Cornwallis wrote in his Order Book,

Camp near Hillsboro, 21st Feb. 1781

Morning general orders, — The Army will forage this morning at 10
o'clock. It is to be understood when the Infantry forage on a halt, or in
a first position, that they bring three days forage with them.15

That plan was typical of what went on each day — the foraging
parties reaching farther and farther out into the countryside. Two
days later Cornwallis raised the Royal Standard and issued a royal
proclamation calling for all loyal subjects to report immediately to
Hillsboro, bringing with them ten days' provisions. The response
was bitterly disappointing. Later he wrote to Clinton, "I could not
get one hundred in all the Regulator country to stay with us even
as militia."16

Already there was a critical shortage of food supplies, since every-
thing had been taken for the support of the American army the
previous summer and fall. All of the gristmills in the surrounding
countryside were ransacked — first Hart's mill on the Eno, west of
Hillsboro; then Alexander Mebane's mill on Back Creek and Trol-
linger's mill on the Haw River. When Mr. Trollinger hotly pro-
tested, the foraging party tied him to a tree with a bridle in his
mouth, and still in that condition he was found late in the afternoon
by a Mrs. Riply who happened to come to the mill.17

The only cattle left were a few work oxen the Tories had man-
aged to hide from the American foraging parties the previous sum-
mer. They were taken in spite of the protests of their owners.
Eventually the troops even resorted to the slaughter of some of their
horses for food. They also made a house-to-house search in the
town and throughout the whole countryside in search of supplies
for the hungry army. Cornwallis could not have stayed in Hills-
boro as long as he did had his men not discovered the quantity of
salt beef, pork, and some live hogs that earlier had been hidden
away.18 Samuel Strudwick, who was one of the Tories, wrote,
"war has gorged itself upon the vitals of the whole people."19

Cornwallis now found himself in a most unhappy situation.
The support that he had expected from the Tories failed to ma-
terialize, the whole countryside had been impoverished even before

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

his arrival, and there was no longer any food to be had. Realizing
that the town and country could not support his army, he issued
a new order:

Head Quarters, Wiley's Plantation 25th Feb'y 1781

After Orders, — The Bat horses to be loaded, and the troops under arms
ready to march at half-past five o'clock to-morrow morning in the fol-
lowing order.

Advance Guards consisting of the Cavalry, Light Infantry Guards and
Yagers under command of Lieutenant Col. Tarleton.

2 three-pounders Bat horses

Brigade of Guards 2 6-pounders

2 six-pounders Lieut. Col. Webster's Brigade

Regiment De Bose A detachment of Cavalry

N. Carolina Volunteers

Tarleton wrote, "On the 26th the royal army marched by the left,
passing through Hillsboro' and pointed their course toward the
Haw."20

The army followed the Hillsboro-Salisbury Road, pillaging and
plundering the countryside as they went, and took up a new posi-
tion on Alamance Creek beyond the Haw River. Stories have been
handed down in the families who lived along this road of how they
buried their precious possessions when they learned that the British
soldiers were coming. Cornwallis probably crossed the Haw River
about where Swepsonville is now located. If he did, his army fol-
lowed the present road from the church to the river, passing through
the very heart of the Hawfields community. It was only the com-
ing of early spring that year that saved the community from utter
starvation.

This arrival of Lord Cornwallis in Hillsboro was the setting
for Mrs. Walker Kennedy's famous historical novel, Joscelyn Chesh-
ire, so popular about fifty years ago.21

The Battle of Guilford Court House

From his position on Alamance Creek, Cornwallis moved north-
ward and met General Greene in the Battle of Guilford Court
House on March 17. General Butler and his Hawfields militia had
been placed in the front line. An officer in the British Army later

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

wrote to a relative in Guilford County, "In the advance we received
a very deadly fire from the Irish line of the American Army, com-
posed of their marksmen, lying behind a rail fence. One half of
the Highlanders dropped on the spot."22

Another British officer who had taken part in the battle after-
wards wrote:

After the brigade formed across the open ground, Colonel Webster
rode to the front and gave the word, "Charge!" Instantly the movement
was made in excellent order at a sharp run, with arms charged; when
arrived within forty yards of the enemy's line it was perceived that
their whole force had their arms presented and resting on a rail fence,
the common partition in America. They were taking aim with the
nicest precision.

At this awful period a general pause took place: both parties sur-
veyed each other a moment with most anxious suspense.23

Why these men broke and fled after firing two or three rounds
has been the subject of much controversy. David Schenck points
out that if the militia fired the first volley when the British were
fifty yards away, they would have had time to reload (which took
three minutes) and fire a second volley while the enemy recovered
from the shock and reformed, but that there would not have been
time to reload a third time before the British bayonets were upon
them. He then says, "It is evident that General Greene, as well as
every reasonable person, expected that the militia would give way
whenever the bayonet did reach them; for against it they had no
arm of defense nor discipline to beat it back."24

Francis Nash suggests that it was General Butler's theory that
to strike hard and then retreat was the most effective use of militia-
men since they lacked the training to meet regular soldiers in pitched
battle. These men were individualists, and their self-reliance made
them very effective when they met their enemy one by one, but
they knew nothing of mass attack.25 After the battle some wag
wrote a rhyme that was long remembered in the Hawfields com-
munity.

There was a man whose name was Gray
From Guilford battle ran away
And though by the way he made some loss
He beat Gen. Butler's old black horse.26

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

On the day following the battle, Cornwallis began his retreat
towards Wilmington. The path of his retreat lay south of Orange
County, so the Hawfields community was spared a second visit from
the British Army. There is no roster of the Hawfields militiamen
who fought under General Butler at the battle of Guilford Court
House, but it is known that John Clendenin was a captain and that
James Turner and James Stockard were members of the company
begun in the Hawfields community.27 There is no record that John
DeBow was with the militia; but he had served as their chaplain
once before, and it is highly probable that he was with the mem-
bers of his congregation on this occasion.

David Fanning in Hawfields

To add to the troubles of 1781, David Fanning and his band of
Tories were terrorizing the country and committing all sorts of
atrocities upon the people. Tradition has it that he quartered his
men for a time in the Hawfields Church while they were exploiting
the people in the surrounding countryside.

Few nights now passed for several months in which he did not
leave his mark somewhere. No Whig and no avowed friend to the
cause of Independence could feel safe in his house for a single night, if
within reach of this scourge of humanity; and no one, however diligent
in seeking information and however shrewd at guessing, could possibly
tell beforehand with any sort of probability, when or where he would
strike, nor in what direction they might hope to find a refuge.28

On September 12, Fanning and his band entered Hillsboro and
captured Governor Burke and his company, among whom were
William Kinchner, Colonel John Mebane, and Colonel Alexander
Mebane. It was a foggy morning, and in the confusion Colonel
Alexander Mebane, leaving a very valuable horse to the enemy,
made his escape on foot through the high weeds into a side street.
When he reached the Hawfields, he spread the news of the Gover-
nor's capture, sent word to General Butler who was at his home on
the Haw River, and began collecting troops to go in pursuit of
Fanning. "A much larger number might have been soon rallied for
the rescue of the Governor; for that was one of the strongest neigh-
borhoods east of the Yadkin; but whatever was done had to be
done with haste."29

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Fanning's own account of this episode follows:

At 7 o'clock on the morning of the 12th we entered the town in three
divisions, and received several shots from different houses. . . . We
killed fifteen of the Rebels, and wounded twenty; and took upward of
two hundred prisoners; amongst them was the Governor, his council,
and part of the Continental Colonels, several Captains and subalterns,
and seventy one continental soldiers out of a church. We proceeded to
the Goal, and released thirty Loyalists, and British soldiers; one of which,
was to have been hanged on that day. . . . About 12 o'clock I left
Hillsboro; and proceeded Eighteen miles that night toward Coxe's Mill;
in the morning I pursued my march about Eight miles further, to
Lindsey's Mill on Cane Creek, where Gen'l Buder and a party of rebels
had concealed themselves.30

In the battle that followed Fanning was defeated, but he escaped
with his prisoners. In the midst of the engagement, Colonel Robert
Mebane distinguished himself for coolness and bravery by passing
along the line giving out powder and bullets to the soldiers. Later
Robert Mebane was shot by Henry Hightower, one of Fanning's
fanatical Tories and a notorious horse-thief — one of many tragedies
that came to the Hawfields community during this turbulent period.

The nearest approach to a battle that took place in the Hawfields
community was a skirmish between a small party of Whigs and
Tories near Colonel Mebane's home. Defeated, the Tories fled, with
the Whigs in hot pursuit. Joseph Hodge overtook a noted Tory
named John Hastings, who lived in the community and who had
led the British and Tories through the neighborhood showing them
where provisions had been concealed. Hastings surrendered, and
when he threw his musket from him, the bayonet stuck in the
ground. Leaving his prisoner in the hands of John Steel, Hodge
turned to follow the other Tories. Hastings then quickly took up
his gun and shot Hodge in the hip with the iron ramrod as he rode
from him. The ramrod was drawn from Hodge's hip with much
effort, and he had to hide from the Tories until he got well. Dur-
ing this time he was visited by John Umstead, an eminent physician
who practiced medicine in the Hawfields community for many
years after the war.31 Dr. Umstead lived on the Hillsboro-Salisbury
road about seven miles west of Hillsboro and about three miles
from the church.32

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 89

The men of Hawfields not only did their part in the military
struggle but also they participated in the political developments.
In the spring of 1774, a movement was started to give a more ef-
fective expression to the voice of the people in their conflict with
the Royal Government. They were to elect to a convention repre-
sentatives who could speak for the people. These conventions came
to be known as the Provincial Congress. There were five historic
meetings of the Congress, and it gradually overshadowed the Gen-
eral Assembly, which was subject to the call of the Royal Governor
Martin. The Congress also served as an orderly transition from
British rule to independence. The first two meetings were held in
New Bern in conjunction with the meeting of the state legislature;
the third meeting (in which Henry Pattillo played such a significant
part) was held in Hillsboro; and the fourth meeting was held at
Halifax. At this meeting the representatives declared the inde-
pendence of the young state. The last meeting was held, also at
Halifax, on November 12, 1776. At each of these meetings Orange
County was represented by one or more men from the Hawfields
community. At the last meeting, Hawfields was represented by
Nathaniel Rochester. John Butler and Alexander Mebane, Jr.33 It
was at this meeting that the new Constitution and Bill of Rights
were adopted for the state. During the next year Richard Caswell
became the first governor of the state under the new constitution.

The New Church

There are no official records that indicate when the congregation
decided to move to a new location, but it is highly probable that it
was before 1780. After that date the congregation would have been
too impoverished to make the move. From "A Sketch of the His-
tory of Hawfields Church," by Mary Wilson, we learn that "The
second church was built in 1771."34

The site selected for the church was about three miles farther
west on the Hillsboro-Salisbury Road— in the southeast corner of
the present cemetery, where the historical marker now stands. A
number of causes led to the decision to abandon the old historic
church erected by the pioneers. In the early days the strength of
the Hawfields community lay largely between the church and Hills-
boro, but the growth of that town and the establishment of a preach-

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

ing point there made it inevitable that a new church would even-
tually be established in Hillsboro. There was already a church
building at New Hope, although it was still supplied by the min-
ister from the Hawfields and Eno churches.

As the years went by and the area west of the church was set-
tled and grew in importance, it was only natural for these people
to want the church more centrally located. "They accordingly se-
lected the present location, as a more central one. Before building
at the present place they preached a while at a place half a mile
east, using a barn as a meeting place."35 This new building, like
the first, was built of logs, but it was made larger in order to ac-
commodate the growing congregation.

Although the church itself was moved, many of the old families
continued to use the burying ground for some years. Finally it,
too, was abandoned. The stones that marked the early graves were
small native stones, and with the passing of the years the markings
on the few that have remained have become illegible.

On January 25, 1780, John DeBow bought the small farm on
which apparently he had lived since he had first come to Hawfields.
It adjoined the site of the old church and contained one hundred
acres "on the waters of Haw Creek, bounded by Hodge, Hughes,
Patterson and Rainey Lockhart." This land lay on the north side of
"the old Trading Road," "excluding two acres and a half for the
meeting house." The deed was signed in the presence of Jacob Lake,
Rowland Hughes, and Banga DeBow.36 He added two small tracts
to this site within the next year, and his will shows that he also
owned land on the Eno.

Like Henry Pattillo, he conducted a school in connection with
his other work. DeBow was far ahead of his time in his thinking
about education, as the following petition addressed to the General
Assembly demonstrates:

To y' general Assembly of y' State of North Carolina The petition
of y' subscriber wou'd humbly show, his need of your assistance, in
order to carry on with advantage what might be productive of good
consequence in this State, in case a University should hereafter be es-
tablished. Namely y' education of Youth, in y' meantime, in y' Lan-
guages and Sciences. Your petitioner is under an obligation, of trust
reposed in him, to use his influence for the promotion of education.

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Gratuities from Gentlemen residing in Pennsylvania, more than 500^
are committed to his care and management, for y' express purpose of
educating poor and pious youth in North Carolina.

Pursuant to which your petitioner has procured Tutors from the
Jersey State qualified for teaching y' Rudiments of y' Languages and
Sciences; and designs opening school the first of May next. —

But y' profits arising from teaching at a low rate, will not be adequate
to the expense for sometime. Therefore as Church and State admit of
no delay; Your petitioner earnestly desires, not only to teach gratis, y'
poor and pious, by gratuities from y' Jersey State, but also others, in the
Same way, by Gratuities from this State.

This favour your petitioner only asks for two or three years, until
a University may be established. That he may, in y' interim, have it in
his power to give such encouragement for education, as to engage many
to undertake so that on a future day, he may have many students pre-
pared for higher branches of learning And that you may be wisely di-
rected, your petitioner, as in duty bound shall ever pray,

John DeBow37

The only knowledge available about his family is found in his
will, which was made on July 31, 1783. He mentioned his wife
Lucy and his two sons, Solomon and Stephen. His wife and brother-
in-law, Jacob Lake, were named executors.38 The will indicates
that he was a man of considerable means and that he owned a
number of slaves. The greater part of it, however, is taken up with
plans for the education of his two sons; he specifies that his books
are to be divided equally between them.39

John DeBow died of smallpox, contracted while he was nursing
American soldiers in the Revolutionary War.40 He was the first
person to be buried in the new cemetery, and his tombstone was in-
scribed:

R'd JOHN DEBOW
PASTOR OF

Hawfields Church
Died Sept. 8th 1783

AGED 38

The Reverend Jacob La\e, 1784-1793
After the death of John DeBow the next minister to serve the
Hawfields-Eno congregation was his brother-in-law, Jacob Lake.

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Since there are no records of Orange Presbytery for this period,
there is no way to know just when he came to Hawfields, nor is
there any account of his installation as pastor of the group of
churches. It is probable though, that like John DeBow he came
from New Brunswick Presbytery.

Caruthers, in his life of Caldwell, cites a page from the minutes
of Orange Presbytery of April 2, 1784, that lists the ministers of
the presbytery and the churches they served. Hawfields and Eno
are not on this list, so it is evident that they did not have a minister
at that time. On the same page, Jacob Lake's name occurs among
the "Evangelists not Ordained." The dates when the other five
were licensed are given, but no date is given for Lake, which would
seem to indicate that he had already been licensed by another pres-
bytery before he came to Orange Presbytery.41

Lake was present as a member from Orange Presbytery at the
meeting of the Synod of New York and Philadelphia in August,
1786; he was also present at the meeting when the Synod of the
Carolinas was formed in 1788.42 His name is listed among the
ministers present in the early meetings of the Synod of the Caro-
linas, but apparently he never took an active part in any of the
meetings.

Since he was one of the witnesses to John DeBow's will and was
made one of his executors, we may surmise that he was living in
or near the Hawfields community before his brother-in-law's death.
His daughter, Lucy Lake, is also mentioned in the will. It is pos-
sible that Lake was one of the tutors mentioned in DeBow's ad-
dress on education to the State Assembly. On October 18, 1787,
he purchased 485 acres of land from Robert, James, and William
Faucette "on the waters of Eno."43 The tax list of 1790 lists him as
owning two hundred and eighty five acres of land and "1 Black
Poll."44

His pastorate covered a wide territory, which extended from
Hawfields to New Hope, to Hillsboro, to Eno, and to Little River.
He, of course, rode horseback to these preaching points because
there still were no wheeled vehicles except a few crude wagons in
the community until long after his time.

During John DeBow's ministry the religious life of the commun-
ity had deepened. There was a growth in membership, and the con-

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

gregation had moved and enlarged the church building to accommo-
date a growing membership.45

It was during Lake's ministry that the church at Cross Roads
was organized, "being made up of parts of Hawfields, Eno and
Stony Creek" churches.46 In Henry Pattillo's ministry, Cross Roads
was developed as one of his preaching points. It had grown in
strength through the years and was organized into a church in
1793. Orange Presbytery now took an important step: it divided
this territory, grouping Hawfields and Cross Roads together as one
field and the other churches into a second field.47

After the new groupings were made, Lake resigned and moved
to the New Hope community and opened a classical school. Dr.
Craig held a receipt for tuition given to James Craig by Jacob Lake,
dated October 15, 1795.48 It must have been shortly after this date
that Lake moved west and became associated with the Reverend
James McGready in his evangelistic movement.

Soon after Lake moved to the West, Abingdon Presbytery be-
came very much agitated over doctrinal issues that had grown out
of the Evangelistic Movement, and, in 1796, Jacob Lake and five
others withdrew and formed an "Independent Presbytery." For
their action they were suspended by the presbytery; within the next
year, however, Samuel Doak, Jacob Lake, and James Balch returned
to the presbytery, confessed their error, and were reinstated. In an
effort to restore harmony among the brethren, it was thought best
to divide the presbytery; and when the new Abingdon Presbytery
was created, Jacob Lake was appointed to preach the opening
sermon.

Political Developments

While Jacob Lake was devoting his energies to the revival move-
ment gathering strength in Orange Presbytery, events of no less
importance for Hawfields were taking place on the political scene.
When the Assembly met at Hillsboro in 1783, Alexander Mebane,
Jr., was one of the representatives from Orange County. The ques-
tion of dealing with the Tories was one of the most pressing ques-
tions before this meeting. Two other matters of great importance
were before this Assembly also. One had to do with the relation of

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

North Carolina to the other states in the Union; the other had to
do with the question of a permanent location for the state capital.

In 1788 the convention that was called to consider the ratifi-
cation of the Constitution of the United States met in Hillsboro.
Two of the delegates to this convention, Alexander and William
Mebane? were from Hawfields. After a bitter debate, ratification was
defeated by a vote of 184 to 84. At the urgent insistence of Alexan-
der Mebane, a second convention was held the next year in Fayette-
ville; at this convention the Constitution was ratified, and North
Carolina became one of the states in the Federal Union.50

During the colonial period, there had been no colonial capital.
The Assembly met in the various towns of the eastern part of the
state, and, after Hillsboro was built, it became more and more
important as one of the seats of government. Some of the most im-
portant meetings of the Assembly were held there. When Gov-
ernor Tryon built the Governor's Palace at New Bern, he contem-
plated making it the permanent seat of government, but the war
had changed all of that.

Before the war, Hillsboro, because of its climate, had in effect
become the summer residence of the government officials. Now
that the war was over the leaders turned their minds in earnest
towards the establishment of a permanent capital for the state. The
expense and inconvenience of moving the state records from place
to place served to emphasize the need for some permanent place
in which to meet. Because of the part that Hillsboro had played
in the late war, sentiment was running strong in favor of locating
the state capital there. In the 1785 Assembly a bill to locate the
capital at Hillsboro was defeated by only four votes. The vote had
been so close that the next year the treasurer and the comptroller
were directed to move their offices to Hillsboro. But the older towns
in the eastern part of the state were opposed to locating the capital
so far west; consequently, a bitter fight continued until the Assem-
bly of 1791 selected a site near the Isaac Hunter place in Wake
County. The contest had been so bitter that 119 members entered
a protest against the decision. But, in spite of the protest, on April
4, 1792, the commission appointed by the Assembly purchased a
thousand acres of land from Colonel Joel Lane in Wake County
and laid out a city of four hundred acres, to be called Raleigh.51

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

The struggle for the location of the capital was over. For Hills-
boro and for Hawfields it signified the end of an era. The center
of the political activities of the state shifted once more to the east,
and Hillsboro, which had so nearly become the most important
city in the state, was left to develop like hundreds of other small
towns and to cherish the memory of her past greatness.

The shifting of the capital to Wake County had far-reaching
consequences for Hawfields also. Up until this time many of the
important people connected with the state government had lived
within the bounds of the congregation, and some of her members
had always been a part of the state government, helping to frame
decisions for the people of the state. Their presence was bound to
have given color to the thought and life of the community. Now
a great deal of action had shifted further to the east. It is not with-
out significance that the decision of the presbytery to divide the
field (that had for many years included Hillsboro) to make the new
field of Hawfields and Cross Roads coincided with the decision of
the state to locate the capital in Wake County. So the end of an
era had come for Hawfields also. As the new century approached,
the people of Hawfields turned their thoughts to a different way
of life; but their new interests and new activities were not to be
without significance during the next fifty years that lay before them.

CHAPTER VI

THE GREAT AWAKENING

I792-1819

In the period immediately following the Revolutionary War
the vitality of religion reached an all-time low in the history of
American Christianity. The state of affairs in the churches had
become a cause for deep concern on the part of all thoughtful church
leaders, and many had come to despair of the very future of the
Church's existence. Both Chief Justice Marshall, a devout church-
man, and Benjamin Franklin thought that the Church could not
survive much longer. Not only had the religious life of the more
mature states in the East sunk to a low level but in the West, in
the frontier settlements in Tennessee and Kentucky, religion had
practically ceased to exist.

Conditions were not as bad in the Scotch-Irish settlements of
central North Carolina as they were in other parts of the country.
At least the form of religious instruction and worship had been
maintained with comparative regularity during the war years; chil-
dren were still taught the catechisms of the church, and much true
piety still existed in many congregations and family circles. But
even here, during the long strain of the war years, there had been
changes. The shifting emphases in the Sunday sermons by the
ministers in order to strengthen the morale of the people in the life
and death struggle in which they had been engaged, the sufferings
that the people had endured from marching armies, and the sacri-
fices that they had been called upon to make — all of these brought
inevitable reactions.

Now that peace had returned and people began to settle down
to normal ways of living again, they discovered that something had
gone out of their religious services. The form was there, but some-

THE GREAT AWAKENING

thing was lacking. The result was that many people became care-
less about attending the church services. Worldly practices that
the church had always frowned upon became more and more com-
mon among church people, and a spirit of worldliness was every-
where apparent.

The concern of the ministers over this state of affairs is reflected
in the action of the church courts. When the Synod of the Caro-
linas met at Poplar Tent in the fall of 1789, two "overtures" were
presented to that body asking the synod to rule on matters per-
taining to the conduct of church members. The first was "Whether
persons who practiced dancing, revelling, horse-racing, and card
playing are to be admitted to sealing ordinances?"1 To this question
the synod replied that such things were wrong and that persons
who practiced them were not to be admitted to the sealing ordi-
nances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. The second question on
which the synod was asked to rule was, "Are persons who habitually
neglect to attend public worship on fast or thanksgiving days, ad-
missible to sealing ordinances?"2 The synod replied that "such
conduct is inconsistent with the Christian character." The synod
then ordered all of its members "to read the proceedings of Synod
on the overtures in all their churches, and in the vacancies."3

Obviously the times were ripe for a renewed emphasis upon ac-
tive religion. The movement in this direction came to be known as
the second Great Awakening. There have been four periods of
great national awakening in the history of America. The first of
these movements extended from about 1725 to 1750. It began in
New England under the preaching of men like Jonathan Edwards
and George Whitefield and spread southward through all of the
colonies and to the frontiers.4 The founding of Hawfields Church
and of the other pioneer Presbyterian churches in North Carolina
was a result of this movement.

The second great national awakening extended roughly from
1795 to 1835. It was almost imperceptible at first. It started as a
Presbyterian movement, and in the South it began, strangely enough,
as a student movement at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia.5
From there the movement spread rapidly through all of the Pres-
byterian churches in Virginia and North Carolina and then to all

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

of the other denominations in this region, and by the end of the
century it had spread over most of the frontier and the South.

One of the pioneers in the second movement was James Mc-
Gready. He was born in Pennsylvania, and his parents moved to
the Buffalo settlement in Guilford County about the time that Dr.
Caldwell came to be their minister. The McGreadys settled about
where Greensboro is now located.6 James began his education in the
Caldwell school. When he was about seventeen years old, his uncle
came to visit in the home and, impressed with the boy's earnest-
ness, he persuaded him to come to Pennsylvania to study for the
ministry. The young man finished his theological studies at Dr.
McMillan's famous log college in western Pennsylvania and was
licensed by Redstone Presbytery. For a time he preached under the
care of that presbytery and then returned to Orange Presbytery and
was installed as pastor of the Haw River, Speedwell, and Stony
Creek group of churches, which he served from about 1793 to 1795.7
This Haw River Church is not to be confused with Hawfields.

In the pioneer days a group of Scotch-Irish settled on the upper
Haw River near the Buffalo settlement and built a church in the
year 1762. Its congregation was a very conservative group of peo-
ple, and the church became so divided over James McGready's evan-
gelistic preaching that the split could never be healed and the church
finally passed out of existence. Only the cemetery remains to mark
the spot.

It was in this group of churches that McGready began the
evangelistic preaching that developed into a movement stirring the
whole Southland and the western frontier of Tennessee and Ken-
tucky. McGready himself appeared "large in form, some six feet
high, of prominent features, grave in demeanor, solemn in speech,
plain and neat in his style of dress, unaffected in his manners, with
a powerful voice, and somewhat ungainly in his address, with the
appearance of great weight and bodily strength."8 His message was
directed primarily to church members, and his preaching was ac-
companied with extraordinary power. He often visited his old
school at Dr. Caldwell's home and influenced a number of young
men to enter the ministry, several of whom afterwards were asso-
ciated with him in his evangelistic campaigns in Kentucky. He

THE GREAT AWAKENING

also preached in all of the churches of Guilford and Orange coun-
ties.

There is no mention of his having preached at Hawfields, but in
all probability he did include this church in his itineraries. Wher-
ever he went, people became alarmed over their spiritual conditions
and wept under his preaching. Soon all Piedmont North Carolina
was aroused.

In 1796, McGready moved to Logan County, Kentucky, and
became the leader in the great revival movement that spread through
the whole of the Southland. People began to attend his services in
such numbers that the church buildings were no longer adequate.
Great outdoor meetings, referred to as "Camp Meetings," became
immensely popular in his and all of the churches of that area. Peo-
ple came from great distances and stayed for days at a time, camp-
ing out in wagons and tents.

These meetings reached their climax in the summer of 1800.
McGready said that they exceeded anything his eyes had ever be-
held on earth. The revivals were attended by great excitement and
by strange manifestations of bodily exercises. Davidson, in his
History of the Presbyterian Church in the State of Kentucky, writes
of the kinds of demonstrations of revelation, such as falling, jerk-
ing, rolling, running, dancing, barking exercises, visions, and
dreams. "Some fell suddenly as if struck with lightning, while
others were seized with a universal tremor the moment before and
fell shrieking."9 Such was the exciting background of the next two
pastorates of the Hawfields and Cross Roads churches.

The Reverend William Hodge, iyg2-iyg8

The name William Hodge is of special interest to the people of
Hawfields because he was the first of their sons to enter the min-
istry. He has the added distinction of being the only one of them
to become the minister of the home church. William was born
between 1740 and 1750, within a few hundred yards of the place
where later Alexander Wilson conducted his classical school.10 As
a young man, he united with the church under the ministry of the
Reverend John DeBow and for a time considered studying for the
ministry; but after the death of his minister he gave up the idea
and settled down to a quiet farmer's life and married Charity White,

100

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

the daughter of Stephanus White who had settled on Back Creek.
On December i, 1778, he purchased a farm of four hundred acres
from James Allison, "on Back Creek and on the Wagon Road."11

The evangelistic preaching of McGready in the churches of
Guilford and Orange counties stirred the whole area, and William
Hodge felt the call to the gospel ministry with greater force than
ever. Although he was then nearing fifty years of age and had a
wife and children to support, he left his family on the farm and
began his preparation for the ministry under Dr. Caldwell and
James McGready. "This step exposed him to the censure of his
friends, who expressed the opinion that he should have remained
at home and provided for his family."12

There are no records of Orange Presbytery for the period in
which an account of his ordination to the ministry might have been
given, but when the Synod of the Carolinas met on October 4,
1792, Orange Presbytery reported that since the last meeting of
the synod it had added three members by ordination: William
Hodge, James Willis, and Samuel C. Caldwell.13 There is no record
of when William Hodge began to preach at Hawfields and Cross
Roads, but apparently he was installed as pastor of this group of
churches shortly after he was licensed by the presbytery. On No-
vember 18, 1795, he was appointed by presbytery to preach the or-
dination sermon for Thompson and McGee and was chosen clerk
for the meeting. On March 6, 1797, he was appointed treasurer of
the presbytery.

All of the early ministers supplemented their incomes by teach-
ing school and farming. There is no evidence that William Hodge
conducted a school, but on November 28, 1798, he bought an ad-
ditional tract of 260 acres from Daniel Turrentine, "Bounded all
around by the land of Robert Patton, Stephen White, Joseph Baker,
Joseph Hodge and James Dixon."14

The minutes of the April 4, 1799, meeting of presbytery record,
"Rev. Wm. Hodge desired leave to resign his pastoral charge, the
commissioner from his charge being present and making no ob-
jection, Presbytery accepted his resignation."15 At the October
meeting of the synod in 1799, Orange Presbytery reported for the
first time a list of her members and the churches which they were
serving, and in the list of ministers there appears, "William Hodge —

THE GREAT AWAKENING

without charge." During the next year, 1800, Orange Presbytery
reported that it had dismissed "Rev. Messrs. William Hodge, Sam-
uel McAdo and John Rankin to go to the West."16

Not very much is known about the work that William Hodge
did in the Hawfields and Cross Roads field. Apparently his en-
thusiasm for the evangelistic work of McGready overshadowed the
routine work of the pastorate. He is mentioned on several oc-
casions as traveling with McGready in his evangelistic work, which
by now had deeply stirred all the churches in Guilford and Orange
counties. It was said of Hodge that "He labored with great zeal
and fidelity which excited much opposition among formal pro-
fessors of religion and a number withdrew from the Church."17

James McGready's preaching stressed the wrath of God and the
perils of hell-fire. One of his most famous sermons was on "The
Character, History and End of the Fool," in which he declared that
when the sinner died "his soul was separated from his body and
the black flaming vultures of hell began to encircle him on every
side. . . . When the fiends of hell dragged him into the eternal
gulf, he roared and screamed and yelled like the devil." He fell,
"sinking into the liquid, boiling waves of hell, down even to the
deepest cavern of the flaming abyss."18 Hodge, on the other hand,
spoke appealingly of the Love of God, and people called him the
"Son of Consolation." He was a man of great power in the pulpit,
and many people, it seems, were brought into the church at Haw-
fields and Cross Roads as a result of his work.19 Apparently his
preaching put new life into the Hawfields congregation.

One of the meetings of Orange Presbytery during the ministry
of William Hodge is of special importance to the people of Haw-
fields. The first notation recorded in the existing minutes of Orange
Presbytery is dated November 18, 1795. The meeting was held at
New Hope Church and was the first meeting after Orange Presby-
tery had been divided to make Concord Presbytery. Orange Pres-
bytery became, in effect, a new Presbytery, and Henry Pattillo, now
pastor of the Nut Bush and Grassy Creek churches, was appointed
to preach the opening sermon. At this meeting Robert Tate was
examined as a candidate for the ministry on parts of his trial, and
at the next meeting of presbytery, on April 5, 1796, he was licensed
to preach the Gospel.20 Tate was the second son that Hawfields

102

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

was to give to the ministry. The Tates lived about halfway between
the present church and Mebane, just south of the present highway.
After completing his studies and receiving his license, Tate went
to the eastern part of the state and became a prominent leader in
the churches of that section. It is not specifically stated that the
minister entered his profession as a direct result of William Hodge's
work, but it is at least safe to say that he was a product of the re-
vival of religion in Hawfields and in all the neighboring churches.

It was perfectly natural that reports of the great revivals in the
West, under the leadership of McGready, should have made a strong
appeal to the young men who had been associated with him in
Orange Presbytery and that, one by one, they joined him there.
Apparently William Hodge had gone to join the others before
presbytery dismissed him in 1800.21 It was in connection with these
great revivals that William Hodge became prominent. In fact most
of the references to him in the early church records are in connec-
tion with these revivals and the bitter controversies that sprang out
of them.

In the face of the scarcity of ministers to meet the great need of
the frontier, the leaders of the evangelistic movement were carried
away in their enthusiasm. Urgently desiring to take advantage of
the great opportunity that lay ahead for the Church, they began to
ordain men who had little preparation or education for the min-
istry. This practice became widespread in spite of the fact that the
Presbyterian church from its very beginning had always laid great
stress upon the importance of an educated ministry. It is not sur-
prising, therefore, that in 1805 the three men who had gone from
Orange Presbytery, William Hodge, William McGee, and John
Rankin, were called before Transylvania Presbytery to answer
charges of "erroneous doctrine." The doctrine in question had to
do with the ordination of unqualified men to the ministry. The
case was finally carried to the Synod of Kentucky with the result
that the synod did "hereby solemnly suspend the said Will Hodge
and John Rankin from the exercise of all the functions of the
Gospel Ministry, and from the Sacraments of the Church untill
they manifest repentance and submission."

Something of the spirit of self-righteous pride that the evange-
listic movement was engendering in those who had a part in it is

THE GREAT AWAKENING

103

revealed in the entry in the minutes following the statement just
quoted: "The question was then put to Messrs. Hodge and Rankin.
Do you appeal from the judgment of this Synod ? They answered
that they had no tho't of appealing to any earthly Tribunal."22
This action of the synod did, however, produce a change of heart
in these men. At the next meeting of Transylvania Presbytery,
on December 6, 1809, William Hodge appeared and made a humble
and sorrowful confession of his errors, expressing his willingness
to submit to the authority and discipline of the Church, and asked
to be reinstated — "all which were considered as satisfactory reasons
for the re-instatement of Mr. Hodge." He was then "restored to
the full exercise of all the functions of the gospel ministry" and
invited to take his seat as a member of the presbytery.23

To follow the religious controversies on the frontier and the
activities of William Hodge in his work in Kentucky and Tennessee
is beyond the scope of this study. He will be remembered as the
contribution of Hawfields to the great revival movement that swept
the frontier and the South at the beginning of the nineteenth cen-
tury.

The Reverend William D. Paisley, 1801-1818

John Paisley, the father of William Paisley, came from Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania, and settled in Guilford County about eight
miles east of the present town of Greensboro. Becoming a prosper-
ous farmer, he married Mary Ann Denny of the Buffalo commun-
ity.24 During the Revolutionary War he held the title of Colonel.
William Denny Paisley, the eldest of their nine children, was born
on October 26, 1770. The young Paisley received his education at
the Caldwell School, and it is said that he was the finest Greek
scholar in the school at that time.

He completed his theological studies under Dr. Caldwell and
was licensed by Orange Presbytery when he was just twenty-four
years of age, when he was presented with the following certificate:

Presbytery of Orange

This ceitifies that the bearer, Mr. Wm. Paisley has been regularly
licensed to preach the Gospel, and is hereby well recommended to the
vacant churches under our care.

Hopewell, Sept. 30, 1794 D. Caldwell, Moderator.25

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

William Paisley was then sent out by Orange Presbytery as a mis-
sionary to eastern Tennessee. Here he was associated with the
leaders of the Great Revival movement, which made a deep im-
pression on the young man and colored all of his subsequent min-
istry. He continued in this evangelistic work for three years.

In 1797 the fall meeting of Orange Presbytery was held at Haw-
fields, on October 4, and among the actions taken was the approval
of William Paisley as pastor of the Union and Buffalo churches
in Monroe County, North Carolina. In the report of Orange Pres-
bytery to the synod, which met in October, 1799, William Paisley
is listed as pastor of the two churches. He is the first of the min-
isters of Hawfields whose portrait has survived. He was a rather
small man, clean shaven, with delicate facial features; one feels
that he was an intellectual man, shy and retiring.

In 1799, Paisley, like his predecessor, married a Hawfields girl.
She was Nancy Mebane, the daughter of Alexander Mebane. The
Paisleys had six children, all of them girls. On March 5, 1800, the
minister resigned his charge in Monroe County; and when Orange
Presbytery met at Alamance on September 26, 1800, the members
appointed "The Rev. William Paisley ... to supply at Hawfields
and Cross Roads at his discression."26 On March 26, 1801, the Haw-
fields and Cross Roads churches presented him with a call that he
"took under consideration." Paisley did not finally accept the call
until September 28, 1802.

In order to supplement the meager salary that he received from
these churches, on February 7, 180 1, William Paisley purchased a
farm of two hundred acres, "being a part of five thousand acres
of land purchased by Peter Mollett of Roger Moore, deceased,
in the year of one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five."27
His new land touched on the Hamilton, "Strudwick old corner,"
and Patton tracts. On September 12, 18 19, the year after the min-
ister left the Hawfields, he sold to Elijah Pickard a tract of 100.9
acres "on Back Creek and bounded as follows, that is to say, Be-
ginning at a rock and pointers on Doctor John N. Mebane's line,
a corner of James Pickett's land, etc."28 These deeds locate his
home just north of the present town of Mebane.

The new minister had shared in the great revivals in the West,
and all that summer after he received the call he worked feverishly

THE GREAT AWAKENING 105

for the coming of a revival in his new field. Each Sunday he met
with the members of his sessions in the session house between
services, and they prayed earnestly for the coming of a revival
among their people. The communion season at Cross Roads that
year was in August. The communion seasons usually lasted from
Friday through Monday, and to help him in this first communion
season, William Paisley had invited Dr. Caldwell of the Buffalo
Church, who had been his teacher, Leonard Prather, and two young
licentiates, Hugh Shaw and Ebenezer (Ezekiel) B. Currie.29 All of
these men except Dr. Caldwell had worked with McGready and had
had a part in the revivals in the West. There was nothing unusual
about this service except the large number of people in attendance.
On Monday the services were conducted by Messrs. Prather and
Shaw, and William Paisley arose to dismiss the congregation, intend-
ing to say a few words expressing his regret that no advance had
been made in bringing sinners to God, but his disappointment was
so great that he could not speak. He stood silent for a few minutes
and then sat down. What happened next can best be described in
the words of E. W. Caruthers:

All was still as the grave and every face looked solemn. ... It was a
solemn moment and pregnant with most glorious results. A man by
the name of Hodge happened to be there who had seen something of
the work in the West and he, rising slowly from his seat, said in a calm
and earnest voice, "Stand still and see the salvation of God." A wave of
emotion swept over the congregation. Sobs, moans, and cries arose from
every part of the church. Many were struck down, or thrown into a
state of helplessness if not of insensibility. ... It was like the day of
Pentacost and none were careless or indifferent.30

The congregation spent the remainder of the day in the exercise of
prayer, exhortation, singing, and personal conversation. It was mid-
night before the people could be persuaded to go home.

With this awakening in the Cross Roads community, great prep-
arations were made for the October communion season at Haw-
fields. The "manifestation of the presence of the Lord" at Cross
Roads was on every tongue, and a spirit of excitement and expect-
ancy prevailed. Almost every night meetings for singing, prayer,
and exhortation were held in the community. The house was al-

io6

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

ways overflowing with anxious listeners. When the pastor could
not meet with the people, the elders took his place. Not a week
passed but that "a number were awakened."31 When the time for
the meeting arrived, many of the people from Cross Roads came to
bear witness to what had happened in their congregation. Many
people came in their wagons and remained on the grounds all
night.

Monday came, the time for the communion season to end, but
the people would not go home. The meeting continued for five
days without intermission. Religious services continued all day
long and through most of the night. Prayers, singing, sermons, ex-
hortations, and personal conversations continued to follow one after
another, with only short intervals for refreshment and sleep. Here,
even more than at Cross Roads, people

felt constrained under conviction to cry out for mercy and continued
to cry until they found pardon thro' the blood of atonement. Multi-
tudes were struck down and lay for hours helpless and apparently un-
conscious of what was saying or doing around them; but when they
recovered from that trance-like state, it was generally, tho' not invari-
ably, . . . with exclamations of joy and praise to Him who had loved
them and washed them from their sins in His own blood.32

Thus Hawfields holds the distinction of having the first camp meet-
ing ever to be held in North Carolina, although similar meetings
soon became common in all of the other denominations throughout
the South and West.

The camp meetings were particularly impressive at night, be-
cause everything in the immediate surroundings combined to affect
the listeners' imaginations greatly. The camp fire at night, the fel-
lowship with friends and others who had gathered for these oc-
casions, the singing of popular religious hymns, the excitement
produced by the bodily exercises — all tended to create a state of
mind receptive to the religious appeal of the ministers.

The bodily exercises, or jerks, to which Caruthers refers in his
description of that first camp meeting at Hawfields, were a peculiar
characteristic of the Great Revival movement and were well known
as a familiar feature of these meetings in the West. However, the
activities never went to such extremes in North Carolina as they
did on the frontier. These phenomena affected all classes and came

THE GREAT AWAKENING

107

on without warning. People seemed powerless to resist them. Some-
times those who were most skeptical about their genuineness were
seized with the most violent manifestations. Even after they began
to fall into disrepute, people were affected by them; apparently
after the exercises had passed they were ashamed to let it be known
that they had suffered from them. Among Presbyterians, "fallings"
were the most common manifestations. An individual so affected
would fall like a log to the floor or ground "with a piercing scream"
and lie like a dead person for hours at a time.

The jerks affected people in different ways. Sometimes only
one of the limbs would be affected, sometimes the whole body, and
at other times only the head. It often happened that "sinners" were
afflicted, cursing and swearing as they jerked. In his description
of the phenomena Cartwright says that the more these exercises
were resisted the more violent they became. It was not uncommon
to see ladies of the "first quality wallow in the dust with their silks
and broadcloths, powdered heads, rings and ruffles. ..." A young
lady, in describing the jerks to E. W. Caruthers, told him that she
had been jerked so that the combs and pins flew from her head
and her hair cracked like a whip.33

The methods used by the leaders of these camp meetings were
not unlike those used by the great evangelists such as Billy Sunday
and, still later, Billy Graham. One of the most appealing features
of these meetings was their extreme informality. After the evening
meal, the people would begin gathering gradually at the place of
worship, and as they gathered they would begin to sing the in-
fectious tunes and words of popular revival hymns. Then, as soon
as the camp was set in order, others set out for the meeting place
and took up the refrains as they walked along. The singing kept
up as the people gathered, and they would go through the con-
gregation shaking hands with one another as they sang. The hand
shaking was a special feature of these meetings. When the time
for the sermon came, the people had already been worked up to
a high emotional pitch. Usually there were several ministers present
to give importance to the occasion. After a very emotional sermon
the singing would begin again, and the minister would go through
the congregation shaking hands with the people; "the act seemed
so friendly, the minister appeared so loving, that the party with

io8

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

whom the minister shook hands would often be melted to tears."
All of this — the dim and flickering lights, the dark among the
trees, and the congregation singing the popular hymn,

Take your companion by the hand;
And all your children in the band,

had a powerful psychological effect; and many who never would
have been touched in any other way, were powerless to resist.34

Bodily exercises fell into disrepute because of their excesses and
abuses and gradually ceased to be a characteristic of the religious
life of the day. They also brought the camp meetings into disrepute
in the eyes of many Presbyterians. Camp meetings became a fixed
policy in the evangelistic program of the Methodists, however.
In Hawfields the camp meeting continued to play a vital part in
the life of the congregation long after the bodily exercises and
jerks had ceased. "Log cabins were erected in a great square around
the 'Stand' and 'Arbor' and the people remained four or five days
or longer."35

These were times when friends who probably had not seen
each other for a whole year had opportunities to renew old ac-
quaintances and to share the experiences of the past year. So the
people came to look forward to these yearly meetings as a time of
fellowship, relaxation, and spiritual refreshment. Through these
meetings the church had become the community center, a position
which it has held in the life of the community to this day. Just
how long the camp meetings were held at Hawfields is not known,
but when Foote wrote his Sketches of North Carolina in 1848, he
said that the camp meeting "is retained in Cross Roads and Haw-
fields in its original spirit."36

Not all of the ministers of the Orange Presbytery shared the en-
thusiasm of the younger men for these revivals, and they created
a great deal of bitterness among the brethren. Angus McDermaid
charged on the floor of presbytery that "the present revival of
Religion was a work of the Devil and that the Devil had a syna-
gogue at all our meetings and that the ministers were Balaam's
Prophets." He was subsequently brought to trial by the presbytery
for making these assertions.37

THE GREAT AWAKENING

The New Church

One concrete result of these revival meetings was the building of
a new church. The people of the community had begun to recover
from the ravages of the Revolutionary War, and the half century
of prosperity that lasted until the outbreak of the Civil War lay
before them. Many of them had been able to discard the log
buildings of the pioneer days and build better and more substantial
homes. It was only fitting that something should be done about the
church building that was the center of community life in those
days. Unfortunately all of the records have been lost which would
have given the details of the building program and the exact date
on which the congregation undertook this important step.

All of the references to the origin of this building state that it
was erected about the beginning of the nineteenth century.38 Since
the transition from William Hodge's pastorate to that of William
Paisley's pastorate came so near the turn of the century, it cannot
be stated with certainty which of the two men was the leader in
planning for the new church. In all probability interest occurred
after the people had been stirred by the great revivals, and, for this
reason, it is discussed now rather than under William Hodge's
ministry.

The log building that had been erected in the southeastern
corner of the present cemetery before 1780 and that had served the
community for more than twenty years was now taken down, and
a more modern frame structure was erected on the site. There is
no record of where the people worshiped while the new church
was being erected. They probably used the outdoor pavilion which
had been built for the camp meetings.

For many years a beloved elder in Hawfields Church, Stephen
A. White, who was born in 1826, wrote a rather detailed description
of the new building:

At the present location there have been three buildings. The first one
was a large log building which was used many years, but was sold and
a large frame building was built. The log building was purchased by a
Person and a still house was built of the logs. At what time the large
frame Church was built, I cannot tell, but early in the present century.
The house was 40 X 70 feet with end gallery. There were doors on the
South side and the East and West ends, with passage running from the

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

East to the West door, and one leading from the South door to the Pul-
pit, which was in the center of the north side.

We then may visualize the building as facing east and west, instead
of north and south (as the present building faces), parallel to and
just north of the Hillsboro-Salisbury Road. He continued:

The gallery was always occupied by the Negroes. In 1842 a part of
the West end was divided off also for the use of Negroes, and often the
gallery and this section was filled with them. It was called a splendid
country Church, though for probably thirty years there was no glass in
the windows. There was a large pulpit on the north side of the Church
over which there was suspended a sounding board which was an elab-
orate finished box or drum which was almost as wide as the pulpit. Why
they wanted a sounding board in a wooden building of that day with
pulpit in center of one side, I do not know as the preachers of that time
generally did not need any extra aid to convey sound for they generally
had strong voices and made use of them.39

In the summary of his paper he was more specific about the
date, "about 1800 the building of the large frame building which
stood until 1855." Jethro Rumple gives the following interesting
account of what happened to the logs of the old building:

When the second building was erected the log house was sold and the
timbers were used in the construction of a still house. However the
Hawfields congregation, after strenuous effort, succeeding in putting
down the liquor traffic in this community, and then the timbers of their
old church were rescued from degredation and appropriated to the more
noble purpose of furnishing foundation logs for a fence.40

There is no mention of a session house, which was usually so
essential to every Presbyterian church in those days. It was there
that the minister and the session met, usually on Saturday after-
noons, to transact the business of the church and to discuss the
spiritual well-being of the congregation. The session house was a
small rectangular building with a door in one end and a large
fireplace at the other end.

It is significant that Stephen White made no mention of how
the church was heated. It was not uncommon in the early days
for the churches to be built without any provision for method of
heating them, and in all probability there was no method of heating

THE GREAT AWAKENING

this new church. In the winter time a fire was always built in the
session house for the convenience of the mothers of the congrega-
tion who needed to take their babies there for attention.

The deed for the property on which the new church was located
was not made until 1814:

This indenture made the 26th day of August 1814 between Solomon
DeBow and the county of & State of Virginia & Geo. Allen Jr., of the
county of Orange & State of North Carolina of the one part & the
Elders of the Hawfields congregation in the County of Orange . . . for
and in consideration of the sum of 25 dollars to them in hand paid. . . .
Doth grant bargain & sell to the said elders a certain parcel of land lying
in said County on the waters of Haw Creek & on the north side of
the great road leading from Galbreth Ferry to Hillsboro including the
Hawfields meeting house.

Beginning at a walnut on said road running thence up said road
south 6o° west 46 poles to a sassafras on said road thence north 300 west
26 poles to a stake thence north 6o° east 46 poles to a black oak thence
south 30 0 east 26 poles to the beginning, containing seven acres & 76
rood be the same more or less.41

William Paisley divided his time between Cross Roads and Haw-
fields. There is no mention of the Bethlehem community that had
always been considered a part of the Hawfields group of churches,
but it too must have been included in his preaching points because
Bethlehem was organized as a church in 1822.

It was the custom in those days for the minister to go immed-
iately to the pulpit when he arrived. Here he deposited his saddle-
bags at the base of the pulpit and, climbing the steep, narrow steps,
took his seat. This was the signal for the people to come in. Filing
in, the men took their seats on the west side of the church, the
women on the east side. When the people were comfortably seated,
the precentor arose and, taking his place on the platform before the
pulpit, "lined the Hymns."

During the winter months the precentor often taught a singing
school for the young people. These meetings were held in the dif-
ferent homes of the community, once each week for several weeks
at a time. The music was divided into "air, treble, and bass," and
each part was learned from memory as it was a number of years
before hymnbooks were introduced. These singing schools were

112

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

very popular and served also as social gatherings for the community.
They survived well on towards the end of the nineteenth century.
Some of the older members of the present congregation can still
recall them from their childhood memories.

The sermon was the heart of the church service and was a long-
drawn-out affair, lasting sometimes for as much as two hours. As
late as 1859 the North Carolina Presbyterian carried an article
urging, "due brevity in the pulpit."42

The Hawfields Academy

The history of education in North Carolina is intimately bound
up with that of the Church, and for more than a century the
preachers of North Carolina were the school teachers.

Almost invariably as soon as a neighborhood was settled, preparations
were made for the preaching of the Gospel by a regular stated pastor;
and wherever a pastor was located, in that congregation there was a
classical school, — as in Sugar Creek, Poplar Tent, Centre, Bethany, Buf-
falo, Thyatira, Grove, Wilmington, and the churches occupied by Pat-
tillo in Orange and Granville.43

Here William Paisley followed in the path of his predecessors and
opened a school at his home. The following advertisement, which
appeared in the Raleigh Register of November 24, 1808, is quoted
in full because it gives an excellent description of one phase of
William Paisley's work and an insight into the nature of these
schools.

Hawfields Academy 1808
A Grammar School will be opened in Orange County about ten miles
west of Hillsboro, on the first Monday in January next, for the reception
of students under the Superintendence of the Rev. Wm. Paisley, in which
will be taught the Latin and Greek Languages, Geography, Natural and
Moral Philosophy, etc., etc., the terms of tuition will be sixteen dollars
per annum, to be paid at the end of the year. The price of Board, Lodg-
ing, Washing etc., will be about fifty dollars per annum. Mr. James
Mason, living near to the School-house, expects to have it in his power
to board ten or twelve students; and Boarding may also be obtained in
several other respectable families in the neighborhood.

It is supposed, on account of the healthful situation of this part of the
Country, the low price of Board and Tuition, together with the tried

THE GREAT AWAKENING

and approved abilities of the Teacher, .... that this School will meet
with the encouragement of the Friends of Science.

Raleigh Register, November 24, 1808. 44

Four years later this academy was under the direction of John H.
Prichard. The advertisement in the Raleigh Register helps to locate
where William Paisley lived and where the academy stood.
Hawfields Academy under J. H. Prichard

The Subscriber intends opening a School in the neighborhood of the
Rev'd Paisley and James Mebane Esq., on the first Monday in January
next; where will be taught Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, English Gram-
mar, the Latin and Greek Languages, Philosophy etc.

Orange, Nov. 26. John H. Prichard45

Mr. Prichard stayed only one year but two years later he was again
advertising in the Raleigh Register,

Hawfields Academy
The subscribed being about to leave the Hillsborough Academy, will
again open a Grammar School, at the Hawfields Academy, on the first
Monday in January next. The Latin and Greek Languages, English
Grammar, and the usual branches of Academical Study, will be taught.
Boarding can be had in good houses, it is presumed for $50 a year. Great
attention will be given as well to the morals as to the literary Education
of youth.

John H. Prichard

Poplar Springs, Orange, Nov. 17 46

In 18 18, William Paisley resigned his pastorate and removed to
Greensboro to take charge of the Greensborough Academy.47 It
is a remarkable tribute to the life and work of the man that Guion
Griffis Johnson in her Ante-bellum North Carolina: A Social His-
tory, should have selected him as the typical rural minister of the
ante-bellum era 48

In Greensboro, William Paisley's duties were primarily with the
academy and as supervisor of the school for girls which was taught
by his daughter Polly. Each Sunday, however, he preached at the
academy, and in 1824 the group that had gathered about him or-
ganized as the First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro. In 1844,

ii4

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

an elderly man, he retired from his arduous duties.49 He died on
March 10, 1857, and was buried in the Buffalo Cemetery.

Several paragraphs from the report of the committee appointed
by the synod to prepare resolutions on the death of William Paisley
describe the man and his work.

In person, Father Paisley was low, rather thick set and muscular.
His habits were always active. During the larger part of his ministry
he rode on horseback to his appointments, sometimes twenty miles on
Sabbath morning and home again after preaching two sermons.

Father Paisley was not a man of great learning, nor were his ser-
mons elaborately prepared. He was a man of zeal and energy. In speak-
ing he had the advantage of a strong and flexible voice. He preached
extempore and was animated, impressive and popular.50

CHAPTER VII

THE ANTE-BELLUM ERA

1 820"! 849

When Thomas Jefferson became President of the United States
on March 4, 1801, a new era had already begun in the life of the
American people, and the new nation was well on its way towards
a period of unprecedented growth and expansion. In the South
the new era was the great romantic period that has been so richly
described in song and story as the "Old South"

Many of the movements of this era as they affected the life of
the Hawfields community were established before William Paisley
resigned in 1818. It is this larger background that formed the
setting for the ministry of the Reverend Ezekiel B. Currie, which
covered the twenty-four years almost midway between the begin-
ning and the end of the era.

It comes as something of a shock to read that Hawfields by
1829 (and that after the great revivals under William Paisley)
could only report a membership of 130 members. The account of
low membership was not peculiar, however, to the Hawfields com-
munity. At the close of the Revolution fewer than 10 per cent of
the population were members of any church, and for a time even
this ratio decreased.1 In all of the United States the Presbyterians,
who made up the second strongest denomination, had only about
five hundred congregations.2 But the Church (and this was es-
pecially true of the Hawfields Church) exerted a far wider influence
in molding the life and character of the community in which it
was located than the figures just stated would indicate. It is for
this reason that no true picture of any church during that era can
be given apart from the life of the community in which it was
located.

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

The Reverend Ezekiel B. Currie, Early Ministry
E. B. Currie's parents were among the pioneers who settled in
the Alamance community, west of the Haw River, but later his
family moved to the Sandy Creek community in what is now
Randolph County. This section was the home of Herman Husband
and the heart of the Regulator movement. His father was an ardent
Whig, and because of the hostility of the Tories in the time of the
Regulator troubles, he was forced to hide out away from his home.
On one of his secret visits to his family, he was discovered and so
severely beaten by the Tories that he carried the scars to the end of
his life. Following this episode, he moved his family from the
Sandy Creek community and settled in the Haw River community
on the upper Haw River in Guilford County.3

The community at that time was in the Reverend James Mc-
Gready's congregation; and it was under his influence that the
young Ezekiel Currie, who was born on January 22, 1763, was led
into the ministry. The young man began his theological education
at McGready's School, which was located at James McGready's home
just below High Rock, about midway between the Haw River and
the Stony Creek congregations. The principal part of his instruc-
tion, though, took place under Dr. Caldwell at Buffalo.4

At a meeting of Orange Presbytery on October 25, 1799, Ezekiel
B. Currie was taken under the care of presbytery as a candidate for
the Gospel ministry, examined on "Experimental religion, Lan-
guages and Sciences and ordered to prepare a dissertation of Gal.
5:24."5 On March 26, 1801, Orange Presbytery met at Barbecue,
and Currie, along with seven other young men, was licensed to
preach the Gospel.6 On September 28, 1802, a call was presented to
him from the Upper Hyco, Bethany, and Griers group of churches.
He accepted the call, and the presbytery appointed James Bowman,
William Paisley, and Leonard Prather to ordain him on December
22. For some reason the service did not take place until the first
Friday in August, 1803, when the committee, after examining him
on "Theology, Chronology and Church History," proceeded with
the ordination.7

Ezekiel Currie began his ministry in the midst of the Great
Revival movement, and it will be recalled that he had shared in
the revival at Cross Roads in 1801. The following incident illus-

THE ANTE-BELLUM ERA

117

trates how the revival movement had penetrated all of the churches
of Guilford and Orange counties. After an especially impressive
communion service at Bethany, Currie, delighted with the success
of the meeting, was riding home and stopped at the home of James
Grier to spend the night. When the time came for evening prayers,
he was still under the spell of the meeting at Bethany, and the
presence of the Lord in their midst seemed to be very real. After
prayers, he had a great desire to be alone with God, so he left the
house and started for a quiet spot just beyond the corn field.

But before he could reach the retirement he was seized in a most sur-
prising manner. Suddenly he began leaping about, first forward, then
sideways, and sometimes, standing still, would swing backward and
forward "see-saw fashion." This motion of his body was involuntary
and irresistable at the commencement; afterwards, there was scarcely a
disposition to resist, and in itself the motion was neither painful nor
unpleasant. The people in the house heard the noise, and came running
to his relief, and carried him in their arms back to the dwelling. The
fit lasted about an hour, during which time, if the attendants let go
their hold, he would jerk about the room as he had done in the field.8

The next morning he rode away, ashamed and humiliated by the
spectacle he had made of himself, and regretted that he had not re-
quested the family to make no mention of the whole affair. On
the next day, while he was visiting a neighbor, they began dis-
cussing the meeting at Bethany and "he was suddenly seized again
and jerked across the room" for about fifteen minutes. "He went
home very much confounded."9

A good many years later, after he had become the minister at
Hawfields, he again had an attack of the jerks. One of the former
ministers, the Reverend William Hodge, was sitting in the congre-
gation and had shared in the Sunday morning service with Mr.
Currie. After the service was concluded the two men were sitting
together reminiscing about their younger years. The conversation
turned to the great revivals in the West in which William Hodge
had played such a prominent part, when "suddenly the exercises
came on, but soon passed away."10 This is the last reference to the
appearance of the strange phenomenon that had so deeply stirred
the Hawfields congregation in years past.

During the five years of E. B. Currie's ministry at Bethany and

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Griers, he was made moderator of Orange Presbytery at Buffalo
in 1807. On September 28, 1808, he accepted a call to the Grassy
Creek and Nut Bush group of churches, and in 18 10 he was made
a commissioner to the General Assembly.11 In 18 19 he resigned as
minister of this group of churches to accept a call from the Haw-
fields and Cross Roads churches, where he spent the rest of his
ministry.12

Roads and Markets
When E. B. Currie arrived in Hawfields to take up his new work
in 1819, the community had outwardly changed very little since
colonial days. The tax lists from taxpayers in 1790 had reported
only two "carriage wheels" in all of the Hillsboro District, which
were owned by Mr. William Shepperd of Hillsboro.13 Horseback
was still almost the universal mode of travel. Wagons had been in
use since before the Revolution, but these were crude, heavy, and
clumsy. Families who lived within a few miles of the church were
accustomed to walk to the Sunday services; a few large families
came in wagons, but the majority of the people came on horseback.
Consequently, the hitching post was a familiar sight on the church
grounds.

The roads were notoriously bad. In the beginning they were
simply bridle paths, and when wagons came into use, naturally
following these paths, they were nothing more than one-track roads.
Little was done to improve them, and during the winter the red
clay cut into deep ruts, which made the roads impassable for weeks
at a time in wet weather.

There were two main roads leading west from Hillsboro through
the Hawfields which can be pretty well defined today. One of
these was the old Trading Path that ran by the church and
crossed the river about where Swepsonville is now located. If the
original trail had crossed the river some distance above this point, the
road had shifted south to a better crossing. It was at this point that
Governor Tryon had crossed the river on his way to meet the
Regulators at the battle of Alamance, and that Cornwallis crossed
with his British soldiers on his way to meet General Greene at
the battle of Guilford Court House.

The second road leading out of Hillsboro which crossed the
Hawfields community passed by Hart's mill and what are now

THE ANTE-BELLUM ERA

119

Efland and Mebane, crossing the river at Trollinger's Crossing, now
the town of Haw River. The old U.S. 70 generally followed this
road. The development of the town of Greensboro in the early
part of the century caused a shift in the flow of traffic from the
Hillsboro-Salisbury Road to this northern route. There was also a
north and south road which ran from Bethlehem into the Cross
Roads community, crossing the upper highway about where Mebane
is now located. The shifting of the highways in modern times
makes it virtually impossible to locate this road on any modern
highway map. In addition to these three main roads, there were
of course a number of cross roads through the community which
had simply followed the bridle paths of former days.

None of these were highways in any modern sense — they more
nearly resembled trails. As travel began to increase after the Rev-
olutionary period and stage coaches began to travel these one-track
roads, many references to their horrible condition appeared in the
newspapers. Some articles were humorous, but others were filled
with indignation.

As early as 1755 the county court had attempted to do some-
thing to remedy this situation: "Ordered that Francis Day, Alex-
ander Mebane and Robert Erwin be appointed Commissioners of
the Roads for the old trading path, from the county line to Haw
River and thence to the Great Alamance."14 In 1784 the General
Assembly directed the county courts to appoint new overseers of the
roads each year, with each overseer to be responsible for a particular
road or roads in a certain district. He was required to summon all
taxable men from the age of sixteen to fifty years of age to appear
with tools at a specific time and place each year to help repair
existing roads and to open new roads. Any person who did not
appear was required to send three slaves or three other workers to
take his place, or forfeit five shillings (about seventy cents) a day.15
This primitive method of maintaining roads by each freeholder's
contributing three days' work annually, continued in force almost
until the organization of the present highway system.

As late as 1848 the Governor in a message to the legislature said,
"Our method of maintaining the public highways has made no
advance beyond that existing in England in the time of Phillip and
Mary."16 In 1849, Governor Swain described the journey from

120

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Goldsboro to Charlotte by stage in an article for the Raleigh Reg-
ister. He stated that the stage ran three times a week and took
three days and a half to make the journey, at the rate of about two
and a half miles an hour.17

It was a day's ride by stage from Hillsboro to the Haw River,
and at each of the crossings there was a tavern. These small build-
ings were the beginnings of what later grew into the towns of
Swepsonville and Haw River. There was probably also a tavern at
the crossroads near present-day Mebane.

When taverns were first established in early colonial days, persons
conducting them were required to take out licenses for that pur-
pose. Every person was required within one month after taking
out a license to: "set up or cause to be set up in Public View at his
dwelling House, a Sign with an Inscription thereon, denoting the
same to be an Ordinary, or House of Public Entertainment."18

The taverns were the forerunners of country stores and were
gathering places for the people of the community, where they
learned the news from travelers and where those who lived in the
Hawfields could exchange small produce for things they wished to
buy. It was not until after the county of Alamance was formed
in 1849 that there was a store of any size nearer to the Hawfields
than Hillsboro. In colonial times the importance of Hillsboro had
attracted a number of good, large mercantile firms, and even after
the capital was definitely located at Raleigh these stores continued
to serve a wide territory. An advertisement from the Hillsboro
Recorder in 1820 gives some insight into the sort of merchandise
that was to be found in Hillsboro stores at the beginning of the
century:

CASH STORE

The subscriber has lately opened a store in Hillsborough, in the house
formerly occupied by him, where he offers for sale on very low terms for
cash, a very considerable assortment of

FRESH GOODS

Among which are,
A large assortment of superfine, fine and coarse broad cloths, super-
fine and fine Cassimeries, bed, duple and Dutch blankets, coatings, vest-
ings, white and coloured plaids, flannels and baises, cassimere and Canton
crape, shawls, collicoes, bombazettes, cotton hose, black silk handker-

THE ANTE-BELLUM ERA

121

chiefs, an assortment of guns, some of which are of a very superior
quality; trace chains, weeding hoes, frying pans, anvils, vises, sledge and
hand hammers, bellows pipes, and bands, crawley and blistered steel,
carpenter's planes, imported wagon boxes, patent cutting knives, and
scythe blades, and a very large assortment of Hardware and Cutlery.
Kirkland, Webb and Co. have always on hand a considerable quantity
of skirting, bridle, bag, upper and soal leather.

Wm. Kirkland

Hillsborough, February 23, 1820.19

The early grist mills also served as a kind of store where produce
could be exchanged for the more staple groceries. The oldest of
these grist mills was built by John Thompson, one of the pioneer
settlers at what is now Saxapahaw. He is credited with building
the first dam across Haw River. It was a rock wall three feet high
and was a mile up the river from his mill. From there he dug a
mill race along the bank of the river to the mill.20 The next oldest
grist mill was probably Hart's mill between Hillsboro and Efland.

Two other early mills figured in the Revolutionary period: one
was Alexander Mebane's mill on Back Creek north of Mebane and
the other was Trollinger's mill at Haw River. The Trollingers
were of German descent and settled on the west side of Haw River
a short distance above the present town of that name. This mill
was built by Jacob Henry Trollinger, the son of the original settler,
and was located on the east side of the river where the Granite Fin-
ishing Plant of the Cone Mills Corporation stands.21 All of these
early mills were on the outskirts of the Hawfields community, yet
it was possible to drive a team from central Hawfields to any one
of them and back again in one day.

Hawfields was a homogeneous community, a factor that helped
to give it a distinctive character. The tax lists for the Hillsboro
District in 1790 reported forty-seven farms with fewer than two
hundred acres, ninety-five farms of between two hundred and four
hundred acres and twenty-four farms of between four hundred and
six hundred acres. There were sixteen farms with between six
hundred and one thousand acres and five farms with between one
thousand and twelve hundred acres.22 Some of these large farms
were not all in one tract, but were separate farms owned by a
single individual. This proportion did not change materially until
after the Civil War.

122

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

The greatest handicap the people of Hawfields had to face at
the beginning of the century was the distance to market, which
made the cost of marketing farm produce extremely high. An il-
lustration of this difficulty is found in a letter that Archibald D.
Murphey wrote to his friend Thomas Ruffin :

Hermitage ist January 1811

My wagons are getting ready to start to
Petersburg. They will only wait for the
melting of the Snow. On Friday or Saturday
they will leave home and go by Warrenton.
I shall send several Barrels of whiskey,
and for a considerable Part of it I ought
to get a dollar Per Gallon.23

In one sense this distance from market was a blessing in dis-
guise because it led to diversified farming, which in turn made each
family unit largely self-sufficient. The farmers had little or no
money, but they lived in comfort and they had an abundance of
the necessities of life. The farm crops that were grown in those
days were about the same as those to be found on any farm in
Hawfields today. Apparently they raised more tobacco and cotton
than farmers raise in the community now. In the early days hemp
and flax were grown on most of the farms. Also every farm had
a family orchard with a variety of fruit trees. Tobacco was raised
more extensively in the Cross Roads community than in the Haw-
fields. The leaves were hauled in wagons either to Danville or to
Petersburg, Virginia. There are records of some farmers who fast-
ened an axle to each end of large hogsheads of tobacco and then
rolled them to Petersburg.24 Many of the smaller farmers found it
more profitable to sell their grain to the grist mills and let the
owners of the mill make the long haul to the distant markets.25
The Hillsboro Recorder of 1821 carried this advertisement:

The subscriber has just repaired his Grist-Mill, Saw-Mill, and Cotton
Machine, and has them in full operation; where he will keep on hand,
for sale, flour, cotton, plank and lumber. Also wishes to purchase a
quantity of wheat.

Thomas W. Holden

Enoe, Orange Co. Nov. 13, 1 821 26

THE ANTE-BELLUM ERA

123

Slavery in Hawfields
The uniformly small farms of the Hawfields community made
it impractical for the people to own large numbers of slaves, so
the slaves they did own were generally treated as more or less
members of the family. The master and slave worked side by side
in the fields and in other farming activities, and the female slave
shared in the household duties with her mistress. In 1856, Fred-
erick Law Olmstead wrote in his journey to the Seaboard Slave
States, "The aspect in North Carolina with regard to slavery is less
lamentable than that of Virginia. . . . The slave more frequently
appears as a family servant — a member of his master's family, in-
terested with him in his fortune, good or bad. This is the result
of less concentration of wealth in families or individuals."27 Chief
Justice Thomas Ruffin, who owned a farm on Haw River in the
Hawfields community, described the personal relation that existed
between master and slave:

Often born on the same plantation, and bred together, they have a
perfect knowledge of each other, and a mutual attachment. Protection
and provision are the offices of the master, and in return the slave yields
obedience and fidelity of service; so that they seldom part but for neces-
sity. The comfort, cheerfulness and happiness of the slave should be,
and generally is, the study of the master.28

At the time of the 1790 census, three of the four largest slave holders
in the Hillsboro District were from the Hawfields community.
Alexander Mebane reported eleven slaves, George Allen reported
eleven, and Andrew Murdock reported five. The great majority of
the families owning slaves reported one or two and some three.29

From the very beginning the Presbyterians had shown a con-
cern for the religious instruction of the Negroes, and in 1832 Orange
Presbytery appointed a committee of eleven, with E. B. Currie as
chairman, to make recommendations to presbytery on "religious
instruction of the black people." This committee recommended that
each minister be requested to preach "at least one sermon on each
Sabbath, to the black people" and that consecrated laymen be used
in giving them religious instruction.30

The close relationship that existed between master and slave in
Hawfields is reflected in the provision made for them in building
the church and in the large number of slaves who attended the

124

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

church services. They not only worshiped along with their owners,
but when they died they were buried in the same cemetery. Also,
"Many of them could read notwithstanding the laws of the land
were in opposition to it. On Sundays many of the slaves would
repair to a quiet place and spend hours trying to learn to read and
the young master and mistress frequently taught them."31

The Reverend E. B. Currie, 18 19-1843

Such, then, was the Hawfields to which E. B. Currie came in
1 8 19, a community on the surface little changed since Revolution-
ary days. Families had become more deeply rooted in the communi-
ty and had seen their children marry and settle down on farms
to continue the way of life of their forefathers. Like most of his
predecessors, E. B. Currie divided his time between Cross Roads
and Hawfields. And like them he purchased a small farm to sup-
plement the income he received from his churches. Several of the
older members of the Cross Roads Church identify this farm with
the one now owned by Mr. Quincey Smith, diagonally across the
road from the old Woodlawn School, just northwest of Mebane.
It was during E. B. Currie's pastorate that a Sunday school was
organized in the Cross Roads Church; and in 1822 the group in
the Bethlehem community, which since pioneer days had been a
part of the Hawfields, was organized into a church. This action
probably accounts for the small number of members reported by
Hawfields in the Assembly's minutes at the beginning of his min-
istry. His field was now made up of two rather well-defined com-
munities, each joining the other, and his home put him within easy
reach of both churches. The Assembly's minutes give his address
as Mason Hall.

Mason Hall was one of the historic places in the early Haw-
fields community. It had been built by Alexander Mebane and
was located about two miles northeast of Mebane at the site of
the dam that furnishes the water supply for the town. In E. B.
Currie's time it was the center of a number of activities, including
a post office, a store, and stables where the stagecoach changed
horses. When the railroad was built, the activities around Mason
Hall shifted to the village that grew into Mebanesville, and when
the dam was built all of the old buildings were cleared away.32

THE ANTE-BELLUM ERA

125

The presbytery still followed the practice begun in pioneer days
of appointing each minister to spend some time each year in vacant
fields. Currie's name appears in the minutes of each meeting among
those who were appointed to preach in vacant fields.

A practical preacher, Currie was "plain and blunt in address,"
and his illustrations were drawn from commonplace happenings
of everyday life. Speaking of those who thought they could serve
God just as well without joining the church, he said, "an apple tree
in the woods never bore much fruit, and the hogs got what little
it did bear." When the church adopted the Assembly's new hymnal,
he suggested that the best method of preserving their books was
"to oil their backs, where they were bent with chicken oil, and
that would keep them sound."33

Political and Intellectual Leaders

The Hawfields community from colonial days until the forma-
tion of Alamance County has often been called the political and
intellectual center of Orange County. Some of the best known of
these leaders lived in the community between 1800 and 1849. Dr.
John Umstead, the community's beloved physician, was Councilor
of State from 1808 to 1820. Dr. James A. Craig, who died in 1849,
also practiced medicine in the community. James Mebane, David
Mebane, John Thompson and James Craig all served terms in the
General Assembly, and James Mebane was a state senator from 1808
to 181 1.34 Two other notable persons of this era were Archibald
DeBow Murphey and Thomas Rufnn. While neither of these men
actually lived in the Hawfields proper, but across the river, their
associations were with the community, and both men owned land
in the Hawfields. They belonged to that group who, as the com-
munity became more highly settled, "spilled over" the river and
settled along its west banks from Swepsonville northward to what
later was to become the town of Graham. In the early days cer-
tainly they considered themselves a part of the Hawfields com-
munity.

Archibald D. Murphey was the nephew of the Reverend John
DeBow. He was born in Caswell County in 1777 and was grad-
uated from the University of North Carolina in 1799. He moved to
the Hawfields in the spring of 1800 and bought a farm of 150 acres

126

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

from John Scott and gave it the name, "Hermitage." This farm
was located just west of the present town of Swepsonville, near the
present N.C. 87 and Alamance Creek. The house built by John
Scott was located on a beautiful knoll in a bend of the creek shortly
before it empties into Haw River. It passed from Archibald D.
Murphey to Judge Rufhn and is now owned by James Enoch. The
original house was torn down, but its timbers were used in building
the house that now stands on the same knoll.

On November 5, 1801, Archibald Murphey married Jane Arm-
istead, the youngest daughter of John Scott. Murphey was a man of
many activities, with a passion for buying land; at one time he
owned all of the land around what is now Swepsonville and as
far east of the river as the Scott farm. He also took up large tracts
of land in Tennessee. In 1802 he opened a law office in Hillsboro.
For a time he and his brother-in-law Thomas Scott were partners
and operated a grist mill and a general store at what is now Swep-
sonville.35 He represented Orange County in the Senate from 1812
to 1818, and was Judge of the Superior Court from 1818 to 1820.
Hugh T. Lefler calls him "the greatest statesman North Carolina
had produced" and devotes a whole chapter in his History of North
Carolina to "The Murphey Program for State Development."36

The panic of 18 19 and the drop in land values brought financial
ruin to Archibald Murphey. In the correspondence of Thomas
Ruffin there are a number of moving letters that Judge Murphey
wrote to him, describing his financial difficulties and the trouble he
was having in meeting his obligations.37 When the break finally
came, in 1829, by the bankruptcy laws of the state Judge Murphey
served a prison term; but the jailer, with tears in his eyes, refused to
lock the prison cell upon one who had befriended so many of the
common people of the state. Thomas Ruffin took over "Hermitage"
in payment for the thirty-four thousand dollars that Judge Murphey
owed him, but graciously allowed him to keep his library of 865
volumes and more than 100 pamphlets. After being released from
prison, Judge Murphey moved to Hillsboro and rented a house
from the Reverend John Witherspoon, the Presbyterian minister
at Hillsboro, and died there in 1832.

Murphey was perhaps the most colorful and most charming per-
son who ever lived in the Hawfields community. An undated letter

THE ANTE-BELLUM ERA

127

from Judge Jesse Turner of Van Buren, Arkansas, a Hawfields
boy who studied law under him, presents a striking contrast between
Judge Murphey and Judge Ruffin:

Ruffin though not repulsive or displeasing in manner did not seem
to possess that out-flowing love of human kind which so greatly dis-
tinguished Murphey, whose manner and address were always pleasing
and attractive. And while it may be truly said that Ruffin was honored
and respected, it may with truth be said that Murphey was equally
honored and respected as well as universally loved.

While Ruffin is remembered as a great lawyer and Judge Murphey
is remembered not only as a great lawyer and Judge, but as a learned
scholar, wise legislator and far seeing statesman.38

When I visited one of his descendants, an elderly lady who now
lives in Hawfields, to ask about Judge Murphey, she stood and
said, with veneration, pointing her finger at his portrait hanging
on the wall, "That's him."

It was fitting that the "Hermitage" should pass into the hands
of his friend, Judge Ruffin, an equally distinguished member of
the Hawfields community. He was Judge of the Supreme Court
from 1835 t0 1852. A tribute to his distinguished career is the
bronze statue of him that stands in the entrance of the State Library
in Raleigh.

Although they were closely identified with the life of the com-
munity, neither Archibald D. Murphey nor Thomas Ruffin was a
member of the Hawfields Church. Murphey was Presbyterian and
Ruffin was an Episcopalian, although not a very active one. But
they were not irreligious men. Once when Judge Ruffin and his
friend Dr. Alexander Wilson were traveling together, the con-
versation took a serious turn and the Judge laid his hand on Dr.
Wilson's shoulder, saying, "Dr. Wilson, the young may have hopes
to rely upon, but for those advanced as far in life as you and I,
there is but one source to which we can look for hope and that
is to Christ."39

The following men from the Hawfields community served as
sheriffs of the county during this period: James Mebane, from 1782
to 1784; Joseph Hodge, from 1794 to 1796; Andrew Murdock, from
1796 to 1799; Samuel Turrentine, from 1799 to 1808; Josiah Turner,
from 1810 to 1818; and James C. Turrentine, from 1832 to 1852.

128

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Alexander Mebane, from 1793 to 1795, and Richard Stanford, from
1797 to 18 16, were members of the House of Representatives in
the United States Congress.40

Fifty Years after Independence
The year 1826 was a time of widespread celebration of the fiftieth
anniversary of the independence of the United States, and many
communities planned special meetings in commemoration of that
event. The Raleigh Register for July 14, 1826, carried an article
describing the celebration that was held in Hawfields. This meeting
took place at the home of Joseph Shaw, whose home was where
Moses Gibson lived in later years, about a mile north of the present
church building.

Pursuant to previous arrangements, the Fiftieth Anniversary of our
National Independence, fraught with so many advantages to this country,
both civil and religious — so glorious in its annals, and so brilliant in its
effects was celebrated in the Hawfields, at Mr. Joseph Shaw's with more
than ordinary interest. The Declaration of Independence was read by
J. Jones Esq., succeeded by an appropriate oration, delivered by Jesse
Turner, Esq.

At 12 o'clock, the company sat down to a plentiful dinner, furnished
for the occasion, by Mr. Joseph Shaw, at which Dr. J. A. Craig presided,
assisted by Maj. Allen and Col. McDaniel, as Vice Presidents.

After the cloth was removed, the following sentiments were given,
interspersed with music and several patriotic odes were sung, selected
from the works of those who had most successfully wooed the tuneful
muse.

The account then lists thirteen evidently prepared toasts — begin-
ning with one called "The Day we celebrate," including those to
"General George Washington," "Thomas Jefferson, the immortal
author of the Declaration of Independence" — and concluding with
one to "The Fair Sex:" "Their government the best in the world —
they often captivate, but never enslave."

The frowns of fortune are the ills of life

Which Man is born to carry
But to cheat fortune, take a wife,

Since few are happy till they marry,

Tune: "Come let us haste to the Wedding."

THE ANTE-BELLUM ERA

129

This prepared part of the program was followed by a number
of volunteer toasts. The first was by J. A. Craig, president for the
day, to "Our neighbor, A. D. Murphey, a patriot who knows no
party but his country; who feels no impulse but her prosperity —
May he be enabled ere long to complete that laborious but laudable
undertaking, the History of North Carolina."41

On the same page of the Register that carried the above account
there is a three-quarter column advertising a lottery to raise money
for Murphey's proposed History of North Carolina. There were
23,886 tickets, which sold at five dollars a ticket, in the lottery. The
highest prize was to be twenty thousand dollars. This proposed
history never went beyond the planning stage on account of the
early death of Archibald D. Murphey in 1832, when he was fifty-
five.

Another picture of the Hawfields community of this period is
given in a letter written by E. B. Currie to the editor of the Visitor
and Telegraph, dated December 26, 1828:

For two or three years prior to the beginning of last winter, these
churches (especially Hawfields) were in a most gloomy and discourag-
ing state; iniquity abounded to an alarming degree. . . . Sometimes about
the 1st of December 1827, the Lord gave us some intimation that his
mercy had not clean gone forever, but that he was still waiting to be
gracious. Ten or twelve in the bounds of the Hawfields congregation,
professed a living hope in the Saviour. Nine were added to the church
in one day which was a greater number than we had received at one time
for several years.

By this addition to the church the progress of sin received a visible
check, members became thoughtful and serious. Evening meetings
through the course of the winter, were well attended and sometimes
large houses were crowded. Through the course of the spring and sum-
mer months there was a gradual increase in the number of the serious,
and some respectable additions were made to both churches. This was
the state of things among us when the appointment was made for a
meeting to celebrate the Lord's Supper, to commence at Hawfields on
the 2nd Friday in October, and to be continued until Monday. . . .

We were not a little surprised to find on Friday more than twice
the number that had formerly attended on the first day of such meet-
ings. Friday evening about thirty occupied the anxious seats, to all ap-
pearance deeply impressed. By Saturday evening the number had in-
creased to about ninety. After this the solemnity became almost general;

130 CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Sabbath was, indeed, one of the days of the Son of Man, — Monday
morning the appearance was so flattering we resolved to continue the
meeting till Tuesday, and I hope that numbers will bless God in eternity
that we did.

The number that professed to find peace in God through the Re-
deemer, as near as we could Judge, was about 40 whites and 10 or
twelve "colored people." Since my return from Synod, we have received
31 persons into the church on profession of their faith in Jesus Christ,
which with other additions make about 60 in the two congregations,
that have been added to the Lord since last December.42

Classical Schools

Much has been written about the illiteracy of the early North
Carolina people, but from all accounts the members of the Haw-
fields community provided an exception to the general rule. From
pioneer days the Presbyterians had always placed great emphasis
upon the education of their children. One writer says, "They were
really our first teachers, and during the latter half of the eighteenth
century they were well nigh our only ones."43

The first half of the nineteenth century was a period in which
classical schools or academies flourished in North Carolina, and
there were no rural communities in the state that had more or
better schools than the Hawfields.

As a preparation for these classical schools, most rural com-
munities by the turn of the century had a subscription school, so
widely known in the ante-bellum days in North Carolina as the
"old field school." Sometimes a prosperous farmer in the neigh-
borhood, if he had several children of his own to educate, built the
community schoolhouse; but more often the schoolhouse was built
by subscription for the materials, with the men of the community
doing the work of putting up the building. These schools ran for
three or four months during the winter season, and each family paid
so much per pupil toward the teacher's salary. The teacher was
usually a small farmer who could take time of? from his work
during the winter months or a young man who had just finished
his courses at the classical school.44

Beyond these elementary schools was the classical school, or
academy, as such schools were now often called. The academies,
in contrast to the "old field schools," were strictly private schools.

THE ANTE-BELLUM ERA

Usually there was just one teacher who alone was responsible for
getting his pupils together and whose support was derived largely
from the tuition the pupils paid. The success of the individual
school, of course, depended upon the ability and reputation of the
teacher.

None of these schools were permanent. They ran as long as there
were enough pupils to make them profitable or until the teacher
decided to move to some other place. One-room log buildings, with
crude home-made benches for the pupils, the schools were generally
heated by a large fireplace in one end of the room. The course of
study was one step beyond that of the "old field school" and con-
centrated on fundamentals — spelling, writing, English grammar,
arithmetic, and geography — with Latin and Greek as the advanced
courses. There was no well-defined course of study that a student
completed for graduation. Students attended one or more years
according to their financial ability or until they were grounded well
enough in the fundamentals to enter college.

The men who lived and conducted schools in the Hawfields
during this era were striking personalities as well as great teachers;
this was undoubtedly the secret of the success of their schools.

The first classical school after the Hawfields Academy of which
there is any record was conducted by the Reverend James Tate.
He came to Wilmington, North Carolina, from the north of Ire-
land in 1760 and opened a classical school there. His activities in
connection with the Revolutionary War made it necessary for him
to leave Wilmington, and he came to the Hawfields and opened a
school. The fact that he came to the Hawfields might indicate that
he was connected with the Tates who were among the pioneer
settlers in the Hawfields. Foote gives an interesting description of
him: "Courteous in his manners, especially to females, he never
married. Particularly neat in his dress, and winning in his con-
versation, his company was prized by young people; and his in-
fluence over them was highly improving in their manners, morals,
and mental culture."45

In September, 1790, Richard Stanford opened a classical school
near the present Scott place. While there he became acquainted
with and married Jeannette, the daughter of Alexander Mebane,
Jr. Later the Stanfords moved to the Bethlehem community. Two

132

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

of his most famous pupils were Thomas Hart Benton, who lived
near the present town of Efland and who later became United States
Senator from Missouri, and John Taylor, who was Clerk of the
Superior Court for Orange County for forty years. On November
2, 1796, Richard Stanford was elected to Congress from the Hills-
boro District, and after that he was re-elected for nine consecutive
terms. He died on April 9, 1816, during the session of the Four-
teenth Congress.46

Sometime after 1800, Daniel C. Turrentine conducted a school
in the Hawfields, but there is no record as to just where this school
was located.47 The Raleigh Star of January 8, 1829, carried the
announcement of the opening of a school in the Bethlehem com-
munity by George W. Morrow.

The subscriber proposed opening a male school, at Bethlehem on Cain
Creek, twelve miles from Hillsboro, on the 12th of January, in which
will be taught all the studies preparatory to College. The price of tu-
ition for the languages $12.50 per session; English Grammar, Geography
and Arithmetic, $10.00 to be paid in advance. This school will be in a
good moral neighborhood. Boarding can be had in respectable families
at six dollars per month.

Dec. 16 George W. Morrow.48

The most famous of all the schools that operated in the Haw-
fields community at the beginning of the century was the Bingham
School. The Reverend William Bingham, the founder of the school
came to America in 1788 and opened a school in Wilmington, North
Carolina, which ran successfully until 1793, when he moved to Pitts-
boro in Chatham County.49 In 1801 he became Professor of Latin
and Greek at the University of North Carolina.50 In 1805 he re-
signed and opened a classical school in Hillsboro. On account of
the rowdyism and drunkenness attending a court town, he soon
bought a farm about five miles north of Mebane and named it
"Mount Repose." Here he conducted his school in a log building for
twenty years, until his death, and it was here that the school earned
its fame.51 Each Sunday morning he and his students walked to
the services at Cross Roads Church. Mr. Giles Mebane, who was
one of his pupils, left this description of William Bingham and his
school:

Calvin Newton Morrow, i 873-1 882

Samuel Hall Chester, 1 884-1 889

THE ANTE-BELLUM ERA

133

In appearance he was about five, six inches tall, no surplus flesh,
weighing 150 or 160 pounds; very quick and brisk in his movements,
walked erect, like a well drilled soldier; was bald, the boys nicknamed
him 'old slick'; walked three miles to church on Sunday leading his
boarders; . . . He whipped with well trimmed hickories, of which he
kept a supply equal to the demand. He whipped in discharge of a duty
to his patrons, rather than to punish the boys.

The school house was of logs with one chimney and one stove. In
front of the door was a leaf arbor for study in good weather.

He had several log cabins built near his house and in them the boys
lodged and studied such books as Caesar and Virgil and imbibed classical
ideas. He had no assistant.52

Such was the simple setting of one of the greatest schools of the
South in its day.

After the death of William Bingham in 1825, his son William
James Bingham took over the school and became the greatest of
all the principals. In 1827 he moved the school to Hillsboro and
in 1844 to "The Oaks" in the Bethlehem community. The school's
reputation by now was such that he was able to raise the tuition
from $20 a year to $150 a year and limit the number of students
to thirty. During his tenure the school stood unequaled in the state
and in the whole South, and boys were turned away by the hun-
dreds. Bingham never turned away a boy on account of lack of
funds, but no student was permitted to stay who could not pass his
rigid examinations. "William James Bingham died in 1866 and
his death removed one of the most striking personalities and unique
teachers the state has ever produced."53

In 1857, William James Bingham took his two sons, William
and Robert, into the school, and together they built "a fine and
commodious academy building at the Oaks." In 1865 the school
was moved to Mebanesville, enlarged, and placed under military
control. After two disastrous fires, the school was finally moved to
Asheville in 1891.54 For most of its long history it was within the
bounds of the Cross Roads, Hawfields, and Bethlehem congrega-
tions, and the Binghams helped to train many of the boys of these
three communities.

Two other men closely connected with the Hawfields communi-
ty during this period who made significant contributions to the
intellectual life of the times were Archibald D. Murphey and Thorn-

134

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

as Ruffin. Many of the lawyers of the next generation studied law
in the offices of these two men in Hillsboro and were trained under
their guidance.55

This survey of education in Hawfields would not be complete
without a reference to the part that the Hawfields community had
in the founding of the University of North Carolina at the close
of the eighteenth century. Alexander Mebane was appointed a
member of the first Board of Trustees of the University and served
on the Board from 1787 to 1795. In January, 1792, he was made a
member of the committee to select the site for the University. He
was also one of the seven commissioners, called the building com-
mittee, chosen for "the location and construction of a building suf-
ficiently large to accommodate fifty students, and also the laying
out of the village of Chapel Hill and selling lots therein." He was
present at the laying of the corner stone on October 12, 1793 and
at the opening of the University on January 15, 1795.56

Mebane was an outstanding political figure most of his adult life.
He served both in the state legislature and in the United States Con-
gress. Practically all of the older families in Hawfields can trace
their connections back to this remarkable family and their direct
descendants are still active in the life of the Hawfields Church.

When Archibald DeBow Murphey wrote the report of the Edu-
cational Committee to be submitted to the state legislature in 18 16
on the primary importance of education for the future life of the
state, he might well have had in mind the Hawfields community
with which he had so many close connections.

In all ages and in all countries the great body of the people have been
found to be virtuous in the degree in which they have been enlightened.
There is a greatness in wisdom, which softens the angry passions of the
soul, and gives exercise to its generous sensibilities. And there is a
contentment which it brings to our aid; humility in time of prosperity,
fortitude in the hour of adversity, and resignation in affliction. True
wisdom teaches men to be good rather than great; and a wise province
has ordered that its influence should be most felt where it is most needed,
among the great body of the people, who consitute the strength of the
State.57

The period covered by E. B. Currie's ministry was truly one of
the significant periods in the history of Hawfields. To judge the

THE ANTE-BELLUM ERA

i35

small farm families of the community by the materialistic standards
of the present is to misunderstand them completely. There were
no sharp class distinctions among them, which gave cohesion to the
community and made it in the truest sense a community. The
presence of so many classical schools in and around the community
and, above all, the efforts of the great men who conducted these
schools gave Hawfields a sense of values not to be measured by
material things.

The boys of the community, too, had an opportunity for an
education that few other communities could have afforded them.
And although few young men were able to obtain college educa-
tions, most of them were thoroughly grounded in the basic prin-
ciples of the English language and mathematics, and many of them
had been introduced through the study of the Latin and Greek
classics to the great ideas that had gone into the creation of Western
Civilization. Among the few books that they possessed were in-
variably to be found some of the classics of English literature and
Webster's Blue Bac\ Speller and copies of Bingham's Latin Gram-
mar and his Julius Caesar that they had kept from student days.
And so the people of this community were men and women of
inner greatness and integrity, if not of material wealth.

The Ministry of E. B. Currie
E. B. Currie resigned on September 10, 1842, after a long pas-
torate of twenty-four years. There is very little specific information
about his ministry at Hawfields. The earliest minutes of the session
begin on March 26, 1836, and are quite sketchy. They show that the
session took seriously its responsibility for the spritual welfare of
the church members. At a meeting of the session on April 4, 1837,

Alfred a boy of color appeared before the session on a charge of Sabbath
breaking. He, Alfred, acknowledged that he ran a foot race on the last
Sabbath in July last and that there was money staken on the race, but
said that he had not bet any money himself. The session are of opinion
that he ought to be suspended from the privileges of the Church.58

On the earliest church roll of 1838, Alfred is listed as belonging
to "J. W."

At the quarterly meeting of the session on August 24, 1839, lt
was noted that the "Meeting House stands in need of repairs" and

136

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Joseph Bason, George A. Mebane, James Johnston, Stephen Glass,
and Samuel Kerr were appointed to report to the congregation what
repairs were necessary.59 No record of their report is recorded in
the minutes.

At a joint meeting of the sessions of Hawfields and Cross Roads
on September 10, 1842, Currie offered his resignation, giving as his
reason, "he felt himself fast declining by age," the recent "heavy
affliction in his family," and the largeness of his field of labor. He
assigned as his greatest reason the peace and prosperity of the two
churches and stated that he wished to end his pastorate under such
circumstances. The officers reluctantly acquiesced and appointed
William Gattis of Cross Roads and Samuel Kerr of Hawfields to
represent their respective churches at presbytery.60 On November
13, the Reverend William Paisley preached at the Hawfields Church.
After the service he read an extract from the minutes of presbytery
declaring the congregations of Hawfields and Cross Roads vacant.

The only minutes of Orange Presbytery in existence that cover
the period of E. B. Currie's ministry are from 1830 to 1838, and
these give only meager details about the presbytery or of the work
of Mr. Currie. They tell only of his being appointed to one com-
mittee and of his various appointments by the Committee on Do-
mestic Missions to fill vacant pulpits. Presbytery met twice at Haw-
fields during his ministry, in 1829 and again in 1840. The manual
of presbytery lists him as having retired in 1842. In the minutes of
the General Assembly for 1843, he is listed as "without charge,"
and A. G. Hughes is listed as Stated Supply at Hawfields. In the
Assembly's minutes for 1844, Currie is listed as Stated Supply at
Bethlehem and A. G. Hughes as pastor of Hawfields and Cross
Roads.

The Assembly did not begin publishing statistical reports from
the churches until 1825, and for the first few years they are very
brief. These reports do, however, give a picture of the growth of
these two churches under Currie's ministry. The reports for the
first three years list the membership of these two churches together:
in 1825, there were 126 members; in 1826, 217 members; and in
1827, 217 members.

The next year the membership of Hawfields and Cross Roads
is listed separately, and the small membership of the Hawfields

THE ANTE-BELLUM ERA

i37

Church is probably explained by the organization of Bethlehem as
a separate church. Beginning in 1829 the minutes of the Assembly
list the ministers along with the churches which they served. The
following table shows the growth of the churches under E. B.
Currie's ministry:

HAWFIELDS CROSS ROADS

1828

127

1829

130

I38

1830

Il8

138

1831

No Report

1832

175

147

1833

185

143

1834

l82

142

1835

186

131

1836

No Report

1837

l62

127

1838

156

129

1839

l62

129

1840

I9I

128

1841

199

135

1842

206

1843

IO4

210

1844

200

ii5

1845

258

127

The membership of these churches for 1843 must have been re-
versed, but they are given here as they appear in the Assembly's
minutes.61

The Reverend E. W. Caruthers, who knew E. B. Currie person-
ally, wrote of the man and his ministry:

His educational attainments were very limited and his intellectual
powers were not above the medium in the ministry; but he was a most
estimable man and a good preacher.

He was a small man and naturally of very amiable temper, but he had
a strong voice and when his feelings became aroused he could thunder
out the terrors of the law with great power. Free from pride or any airs
of professional dignity, a child could approach him with confidence and
the poorest outcast of society, when wanting consolation or instruction

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

in the way of everlasting life never felt repelled by anything in his
manner. In a word, he was a man whom all good people loved both
in the pulpit and by the fireside.62

The last description of him is that of an old man sitting in his
simple home, living over again with the church historian, Dr.
W. H. Foote, the stirring events of his long and varied ministry.
Foote recalls, "in whose retired cottage the writer gathered the
principal facts relating to Rev. James McGready and the revivals
that accompanied and followed his preaching."63 E. B. Currie died
in 1851 and was buried in the Hawfields Cemetery. His tombstone
bears the inscription:

In
Memory
of

Rev. E. B. Currie
Pastor of
Hawfields & Cross Roads
Churches

Born
Jan. 22, 1763

died
July 4, 1851

Erected

The United People of his Charge
In Testimony of
The high sense they entertain
of his worth
and their respect for his
Exemplary Character

When the session met on July 26, 1851, it adopted appropriate
resolutions on the death of their former minister. These resolutions
reviewed the principal events of his life; paid tribute to him as a
"modest man," "a devout Christian," and a "faithful pastor"; and
expressed the hope that down to the "latest generation" the church

THE ANTE-BELLUM ERA

139

might have a "man of like spirit and zeal to break and dispense the
bread of life."64

The account of the division of Orange County and the organiza-
tion of Alamance as the new county in 1849 is fully covered in Mr.
Walter Whitaker's recent Centennial History of Alamance County
and needs not be repeated here.65 Giles Mebane had taken the lead
in the movement for the organization of the new county, and,
perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for
bringing the movement to a successful conclusion. He was a mem-
ber of the Mebane family that had been so closely connected with
the Hawfields Church from the very beginning. Giles himself was
born near the present town of Graham; he was an Elder in the
Cross Roads Church and is buried in the Cross Roads Cemetery.

CHAPTER VIII

THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD

1850-1873

The Reverend Anderson Green Hughes, 1843-1873

The ministry of Anderson Green Hughes to the Hawfields and
Cross Roads churches was unique in a number of respects. It was
his first and only pastorate. It was also the longest pastorate in
the history of the two churches; in fact, his ministry spanned the
transition from the old era to the beginning of modern times. As
a young man he ministered to these churches in the most prosperous
years of their long history, and as a mature man he shared with
his people the tragic years of the Civil War and the period of Re-
construction that followed.

Anderson was the son of Joseph Dunn and Mary Woods Hughes
of the Eno community. The eldest of ten children, he was born
on his father's farm on December 10, 1810. His first teacher was
his father, who prepared him to enter the Bingham School, which
was at that time located in Hillsboro. From there he entered Hamp-
den-Sydney College where he received both the B.A. and M.A.
degrees. While at Hampden-Sydney he met and fell in love with
Anne Hartwell Hughes. Although the two young people had the
same last names, their families were not related. Anderson and
Anne Hughes were married on November 29, 1837, and theirs
proved to be a long and happy union.1

After graduating from Hampden-Sydney, Hughes taught school
for a time at the Oxford Female Academy in Oxford, North Caro-
lina. The sessions of this school ran for five months. The Raleigh
Register of June 22, 1839, carried an announcement that the next
session would begin on July 1, and is signed by Anderson G. Hughes
and Annie E. Hughes as school principals. The December 11 is-

THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD

141

sue of this paper stated, "The exercises of this Institution will re-
sume on the 15th of January under the direction of its former
Principals: A. G. Hughes, A.M., and Annie E. Hughes, Principals."

On October 26, 1826, at the age of eighteen, Anderson Hughes
united with the Eno Presbyterian Church. It was said of him that
"he was a man of prayer" and that even in his childhood he would
often go out into the wheat field for secret prayer.2

Nothing is known of his decision to study for the ministry, but
when Orange Presbytery met in Lexington, North Carolina, on
October 8, 1835, A. G. Hughes was introduced to the presbytery as
a candidate for the ministry and was examined "on his acquaintance
with experimental religion, and his views and motives in desiring
the sacred office." He was received as a candidate and later in the
day he was examined on his knowledge of "the Latin and Greek
Languages, English Grammar, Mathematics, Modern Geography
and Natural Philosophy." All of the results of the examinations
were satisfactory.3

After teaching for two years at Oxford and one year at Buf-
falo Spring, Virginia, he returned to Hampden-Sydney, completing
his theological training at Union Theological Seminary.4

Just how the name Anderson Hughes was brought to the at-
tention of the sessions of the Hawfields and Cross Roads Churches
is not known, but when Samuel Tate, who had been the representa-
tive from Hawfields to the spring meeting of presbytery returned
home, he reported to the session on May 27, 1843, that he had
asked "Of Presbytery leave for the Hawfields congregation to em-
ploy, Mr. A. G. Hughes half of his time as stated supply until next
Presbytery, the request was granted."5

The young minister won the hearts of the congregation from
the very first; and at a meeting of the session on September 2,
1843, after a full discussion in which each member expressed him-
self, the session recommended extending a call to Hughes. A com-
mittee composed of Samuel Tate, John Faucette, and Stephen White
was appointed to confer with a similar committee of Cross Roads
"concerning the interest of the two churches" in regard to the call.
The congregational meeting was held on September 22, 1843, and
the Reverend Thomas Lynch was invited to preach and to conduct
the meeting. Anderson Hughes was extended a unanimous call and

142

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

was offered a salary of two hundred dollars a year for one half of
his time. The elders were instructed to sign the call on behalf of
the congregation.

A called meeting of Orange Presbytery was held at Hawfields
on October 21, 1843, and the presbytery examined A. G. Hughes
"on the various matters required by the Book of Discipline and
being satisfied" ordained and installed him pastor of Hawfields
Church.6

Hughes began his work with zest and enthusiasm. At the first
meeting of the session after he was installed, he received David C.
Russell and Calvin Graves into the church on profession of faith.
One year later, October 26, 1844, twenty-nine white and ten Negro
persons were received on profession and united with the church.
The session then adjourned until the next day, when thirteen white
and seven Negro persons were also received on profession of faith.
Hardly a meeting of the session went by during his long pastorate
without one or more persons appearing to make a profession of
faith. At the time of his death it was said that "Rev. A. G. Hughes
has probably won more souls to Christ, than any other minister
in Orange Presbytery."7

On March 3, 1851, Anderson Hughes purchased a farm of 117
acres "on waters of Back Creek" from James Newland for three
hundred dollars.8 This farm is now owned by Mr. Howard Cates
and is more familiarly known as "the Cates pickle farm." It was
here that the Hughes built their home during the long, fruitful
ministry at Hawfields and Cross Roads, and that Anderson sup-
plemented their meager income from these churches by farming
and teaching school.

The session took seriously its responsibility towards the spiritual
welfare of the members of the congregation, and a great deal of its
time was taken up with matters of discipline. Members of the
church, both white and Negro, were summoned to appear before
the session to answer charges of conduct unbecoming to a church
member. These minutes shed a great deal of light on the life of
the community and the church's effort to maintain high moral
standards for the community more than a hundred years ago. The
temptations to which human nature succumbed in that day were
not too different from those of our own day: drunkenness, im-

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143

morality, swearing in public, stealing, horse racing, dancing, and
failure to attend church services. If the charges were sustained,
the guilty party was suspended from church membership until
such time as he could give evidence of genuine repentance.

The Graham Presbyterian Church

In the early part of Anderson Hughes's ministry, Hawfields
once more colonized. In pioneer days Presbyterians from Haw-
fields, Cross Roads, and Alamance had settled in the general area
of what is now the town of Graham. They had built a small meet-
inghouse, and the minister at Hawfields had preached as often as he
was able to do so. The organization of the new county of Ala-
mance and the location of the county seat at Graham gave a new
importance to this community, and at the fall meeting of Orange
Presbytery, 1850, Hughes and John A. Gretter were appointed by
presbytery to organize this group into a church. Until a church was
organized the Presbyterians of that area held their memberships
at Alamance, Cross Roads, and Hawfields. The organization took
place on December 8, 1850, with John Scott of Hawfields, Thomas
G. McLean and Robert Hammer of Alamance, and David L. Ray
of Bethel — all elders in their respective churches — as the first elders.9

The following members of Hawfields were dismissed to become
charter members of the new church.

John Scott (Elder) Hunter Kirkpatrick

Martha Scott Martha Ritch

Frances Scott Martha Morrow

Martha Dixon Samuel M. White

James S. Scott Calvin Scott

George Freeland Nancy Freeman

Isabella Freeland Martha Freeland

Elizabeth Paisley John Mebane

Mary A. Paisley Jane Cummins

Deborah Freeland Louisa [name blurred]10

From the beginning of his ministry Anderson Hughes had taken
a deep interest in this group, and for the first five years the new
church was irregularly supplied by him.

i44

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

The North Carolina Railroad

Hugh T. Lefler, in his History of North Carolina, calls the
period covered by Anderson Hughes's ministry before the Civil
War the "Age of Progress." One of the most far-reaching events
of this period, which was to affect the whole future of Hawfields
Church and community, was the building of the "North Carolina
Railroad." When the Bill authorizing the building of the railroad
passed the Assembly in 1849, the Raleigh Register of January 31,
1849, commented, "The late session of the Legislature will mark
a new era in the history of the State."

There were two proposed routes for the railroad between Golds-
boro and Charlotte; one was to go by way of Pittsboro and Ashboro
and the other by way of Hillsboro and Greensboro. Giles Mebane,
an elder in the Cross Roads Church and at that time a member of
the House of Representatives, together with the cotton manufac-
turers of Alamance, was largely responsible for locating the pro-
posed railroad through Alamance County. On July 11, 1851, ground
was broken with great ceremony at Greensboro and the work got
under way.11 Four years later the construction crew reached Meb-
anesville, and the first locomotive arrived in the spring of 1855.
When the locomotive, "at that time the eighth wonder of the
world" to the people of the community, arrived, more than a hun-
dred people "stared in open-eyed wonder at the strange monster"
and eagerly awaited the free ride to Back Creek Bridge. The en-
gine bore the name of "that grand old man and noble statesman,
Giles Mebane."12

Ben Trollinger and his brother-in-law, who had offered to build
the Haw River bridge if the railroad should come by Haw River,
completed the bridge on September 12, 1855; and the eastern and
western spans of the track, built separately, were joined at Greens-
boro on January 29, 1856. The first train passed through on the
following day.13

The railroad, crossing as it did through the center of the Haw-
fields and Cross Roads communities gave the farmers of these com-
munities an easy access to market. Consequently, the years that
followed were prosperous until the outbreak of the Civil War. Also,
land values along the railroad increased, causing quite a number of
the families of those two congregations to sell their farms and move

THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD

i45

into the villages that were to become Mebanesville, Haw River,
Graham, and Burlington. In 1854, Stephen A. White built a home
at what was to become Mebanesville, and the next year Frank
Mebane and Thomas B. Thompson built homes near by.14 The
building of the railroad and the coming of industries to the new
towns springing up along the railroad explain why the Hawfields
of today is no longer a strictly rural church.

The Alexander Wilson School

Another important feature of the "Age of Progress" in Haw-
fields was the establishment in 1851 of the Alexander Wilson classi-
cal school, which for a time rivaled the Bingham school in im-
portance and reputation in the South.

Wilson was born at Newforgate, near Belfast, Ireland, on Feb-
ruary 1, 1799.15 His father, Alexander Sr., was a man of means
who had lost his fortune by standing security for his friends. Young
Alexander was given an excellent education and it was the hope of
his parents that he might become a minister, but as he grew up
they decided that his voice was too weak for him to succeed as a
public speaker and that he should go into the medical profession.
After he had obtained his diploma from the governors and di-
rectors of Apothecaries Hall in Dublin, which entitled him to
practice medicine, he emigrated to America, landing in this country
on July 4, 18 18.

Apparently the medical profession held little appeal for him,
and he never became a practicing physician. He spent some time in
Baltimore, and in October, 18 18, he came to Raleigh. For two and
a half years he was associated with Dr. William McPheeters in a
classical school in that city. During his stay in Raleigh he mar-
ried his boyhood sweetheart, Mary Willis, of Belfast, Ireland, who
came all the way to Raleigh to be married. The Raleigh Register
of January 11, 1822, carried a tribute to Dr. Wilson as a man and
a teacher. It spoke of him "as a scholar and gentleman" and certi-
fied to his "correct moral deportment, his talent for school disci-
pline and government, his literary attainments, and particular task
for the Latin and Greek classics." It was signed by Dr. McPheeters
and Joseph Gales, President of the Board of Trustees.16

146

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

In January, 1822, Dr. Wilson moved to Williamsborough in
Granville County and became head of the Williamsborough Acad-
emy, a position he held for the next seven years. Towards the end
of his stay in Williamsborough he conducted a prayer meeting with
such success that his friends began to tell him that "he had mistaken
his calling — that he ought to be preaching." The result of their
recommendations was that he placed himself under the care of
Orange Presbytery in 1826, and in 1830 he was licensed by the
same presbytery at a meeting held in Hawfields Church. About a
year and a half later he was ordained as an evangelist at Oxford.
His first and only pastorate was Spring Garden in Granville County,
which he served for four years. At the end of that time he was
called by Orange Presbytery to a position of leadership in the educa-
tional work of the presbytery; and on January 1, 1836, he became
head of the Caldwell Institute, which was opened that year in
Greensboro. In 1845 the school was moved to Hillsboro, and for
the next seven years Dr. Wilson served as President of the Caldwell
Institute and Professor of Greek.

Realizing that the dissipations of a county seat were not very con-
ducive to the success of an institution for boys, Dr. Wilson began
making plans for a private school of his own. After a conference
with Henderson Scott he decided to locate in the Hawfields and on
December 24, 1847, he purchased for twenty dollars a tract of fifty
acres of land from O. F. Long at a place called Burnt Shop.17 It
was an ideal place for a school. In addition to a post office, the
site was a beautiful one, just east of the present Alexander Wilson
School, adjoining the land of Stephen Glass and later known as the
old Webster place. At one time Archibald DeBow Murphey owned
all of the land in that area; he had built the old Webster house for
his son William, but William never lived there.18

On July 4, 1 85 1, Dr. Wilson moved to his new home and
changed the name from Burnt Shop to Melville in honor of the
Scots teacher and preacher, Andrew Melville. The first session of
the school was opened in August, 1851. The school was conducted
in an unpainted three-room building that had two rooms in the
front and one in the rear. There was also a dormitory for boarding
students, which the boys named "Buzzard's Roost." Some of the
students found board in the nearby homes in the community.

THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD

147

The Basons had a log building in their yard which served as a
dormitory for some of the boys. Others lived at the Faucett place
where in later years Mr. and Mrs. James Covington lived. This
home is one of the oldest in the community. It is a log building,
later weather-boarded over, and in the early days the driver of the
stage coach changed his horses there. One of the old mantels still
has the initials that the Alexander Wilson students carved on it
when they boarded there.19

The school opened with seven students, and soon many more
were turned away than were accepted. Because Dr. Wilson was
concerned with the quality of education rather than numbers, he
limited the number of students at any one session to seventy-five.
Miss Sally Stockard, in her History of Alamance, gives a partial
list of the boys who studied under Dr. Wilson. It includes many
names familiar to the Hawfields section as well as names of those
who became prominent in the life of the state and nation. Dr.
Wilson died at his home about five o'clock on July 22, 1867.

Two days later Anderson Hughes wrote a tribute to the min-
ister's life and work for The North Carolina Presbyterian, which
began, "Yesterday evening a long and sorrowful train followed his
remains from his late home to Hawfields Church, and after ap-
propriate religious services we placed his body in the grave to rest
in peace until God shall again call it forth on the morning of the
resurrection."20 After Dr. Wilson's death the school declined. The
war had changed the whole complexity of the South, and after a
time the school closed and in 1902 the old building was torn down.

During this period Anderson Hughes conducted a boarding
school for girls at his home near Mebane. The school was known
as the Hughes Female Academy. Besides the Wilson and Hughes
private schools, a public school was conducted in the old church
building for many years before it was taken down. After that a
log building was erected just south of the old church on the E. C.
Turner farm; this school continued for many years after the Civil
War.

The presence of the Wilson Classical School and the Hughes
Female Academy in the Hawfields community during the last
decade before the Civil War marked the end of the long history
of the leadership of Hawfields in the educational life of the county

148

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

and state. These classical schools from the days of Henry Pattillo
to Dr. Wilson and Anderson Hughes, like the old classical schools
of ancient Greece, were built around great personalities who were
also great teachers. For that reason they lacked the permanence of
the school system elaborately devised today. After the Civil War
they were never revived. These schools, along with the church
they were never separated from, shaped the life and character of
the Hawfields people over the years.

With the exception of the plantations owned by Archibald
D. Murphey and Judge Ruffin there were no extensive tracts of
land in the Hawfields. From the beginning the majority of the
farmers had been small land owners, with farms averaging from
two to three hundred acres. Most of the farmers owned but a few
slaves. The remoteness of the markets before the coming of the
railroad, poor roads, and the adaptability of the soil to the growth
of grain and grass caused the farmers of this section to give more
attention to the growing of food crops; consequently, families were
largely self-sufficient. But, of course, this meant that they had little
money and few of the things that money could buy.

This state of affairs is reflected in the contributions that they
made to the benevolent causes of the church and in the amounts they
paid towards their minister's salary. But most of the families man-
aged to send their children to one of the good schools for a short
time at least. Although they possessed few material belongings, they
did possess something of the cultural heritage of the ages, which was
stamped indelibly on the character of the people of the Hawfields
community.

The New Church

The most outstanding mark of the "Age of Progress" in the
Hawfields community was their investment in a new church build-
ing. The old frame structure erected at the beginning of the century
in the southeast corner of the present cemetery had served the
community long and well, but the congregation had outgrown this
building, and the now prosperous years called for a building more
in keeping with the times. One of the surprising things about the
minutes of the session of this period is that they make no mention

Goodridge A. Wilson, 1890-1891

R. W. CULBERTSON, 1892-1906

Jonas Barclay, 1917-1920 M. E. Hansel, 1921-1925

N. N. Fleming, Jr., 1926-1948 Ralph L. Buchanan, I949-I959

THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD

149

of this significant step in the life of the community. Stephen A.
White, in his "Sketch of Hawfields Church," wrote:

The old church after having been used for near a half century was
considered by the congregation to be rather uncomfortable and not
stylish enough for the congregation and in the fall of 1852 preparations
were begun for building the present house which was finished in 1854,
which building is a substantial brick building 44 X 66 feet with side and
end galleries which stands in a beautiful grove of 10 acres and is con-
sidered one of the best country churches of the south.21

The additional land for the new building was given by Thomas
White, who lived at the old White place that was only a short dis-
tance northeast of the present church building. He was the father
of James Ira White, who taught school in the community for many
years after the Civil War, and also the great-grandfather of Mrs.
Henry A. Scott of Hawfields.

There is no record of how the money was raised for the proposed
new church, but the beautiful building which they erected is a
tribute to the general prosperity of the people of the community.
The contractor for the new building was John Anderson, an elder
in the Presbyterian Church at Hillsboro, who did the work for
five thousand dollars, a figure that does not include the large
amount of work contributed by the members of the church and
community.22 When the church was completed it appeared general-
ly as it does today, with the exception of the Sunday school annex.
However, the beautiful grove of oak trees where horses were tied
has now nearly disappeared. The bricks were handmade and burnt
at the old Craig brickyard, just east of the church on the old Hills-
boro road, and then hauled to the site of the new building by
members of the congregation. Much of the timber for the wood-
work was cut and hauled in the same way. I recall my grand-
father's telling how the interior woodwork was all hand-dressed by
the people of the community.

The interior of the building has not been changed a great deal
from the original design. The gallery on the west side, with an
outside entrance since closed, was reserved for the slaves. The in-
terior was plastered throughout. About sixty years ago the ceiling
became so badly cracked that it was dangerous, and it was re-
placed by the present wooden ceiling. The pews are the original

150 CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

pews reworked to make them more comfortable. The lighting
fixtures are also the original holders, which were then equipped
with kerosene lamps.

The old pulpit was beautiful and impressive. The most unusual
thing about it was its height; the platform was about twice as high
as the present one. The pulpit itself was octagonal in shape and
had wings extending out to the edge of the platform. The wings
were paneled to match the gallery. At the end of each wing was a
pedestal for the pulpit lamps. A visiting minister who was low in
stature was once heard to remark that if there were anything that a
man would be justified in worshiping on earth it would be the old
pulpit, because there was nothing like it "in heaven above or the
earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth."23 The pulpit was
painted white below a red cushion on which the Bible rested. When
the plastered ceiling was replaced, the old pulpit was taken out and
the platform cut down to the present size. Only the pulpit seat
remains from the original furnishings.

The building was heated by two large stoves that were placed
under the gallery about midway on either side. There were two
brass cuspidors behind the pulpit, and on the west side of the church
where the men sat there were two or three porcelain cuspidors to
each pew. At the beginning of each service in the early days, the
men filed in, took a chew of tobacco, and made themselves com-
fortable for the long service that followed.

One imagines from the architecture of the session house that it
was apparently built at the same time. The first mention of this
meeting place is in the minutes of the session of May 13, i860, which
begin, "Session met at session room. . . ." When the church build-
ing was completed, it was one of the most attractive rural churches
in North Carolina. It is a tribute to the quality of the work and
materials that went into the building that it stands today after one
hundred years of service without any sign of deterioration or decay.

The Civil War Years

In February, 1861, twenty-one states sent representatives to the
Peace Conference in Washington, with the hope of working out
some solution that would avert war and save the Union. One of
North Carolina's representatives to this meeting was Judge Rumn

THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD

of the Hawfields. He was one of the most memorable men who
attended that conference and with a few others worked valiantly
to save the Union, but the tide was running strongly against all the
efforts which these men made. Although he was a strong Union
man and had worked hard to save it, when secession finally came,
Judge Ruffin urged North Carolina to "Fight! Fight! Fight!"24
In the Secession Convention that was held in Raleigh on May 20,
1861, the Hawfields and Cross Roads communities were represented
by Judge Ruffin and Giles Mebane.25

The General Assembly, anticipating the action of the Secession
Convention, authorized Governor Ellis to enlist and to organize ten
regiments of state troops for the duration of the war and fifty
thousand volunteers for twelve months' service.26 Eight days after
Governor Ellis' call for troops a large crowd of friends and neigh-
bors gathered to see the hastily formed Hawfields Company board
the train at Mebane, headed towards the Charlotte training camp.27

There is no mention of the Civil War in the minutes of the
session or of the trying days that followed the war. They do,
however, bear mute and eloquent witness to the privations which
the war brought to the South. As the war years wore on, the ink
that the clerk used to write the minutes became poorer and
poorer, and the minutes of 1865 are so faded that it is almost im-
possible to read them.

When Orange Presbytery met on October 29, 1861, the most
important matter before that body was the question of whether
or not to withdraw from the Presbyterian church to form a new
Assembly. The following quotation from the minutes of that meet-
ing indicate Hawfields' part in that fateful decision: "Before the
vote was taken on the resolutions proposed looking to the forma-
tion of the New Assembly, A. G. Hughes was asked to lead in
Prayer."28

On December 4, 1861, commissioners from forty-seven presby-
teries gathered at Augusta, Georgia, and organized "The Presby-
terian Church in the United States," commonly known as "The
Southern Presbyterian Church," but there is no reference to this
historic event in the minutes of the session. As far as the minutes
show, the life and work of Hawfields Church went on just as they
had always done, as if there had been no formation of a new Church.

152

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Although many of the young men from Hawfields were already
in the army, a letter describing the October, 1861, communion
service at Hawfields, which appeared in the November 21 issue of
The Christian Observer, makes no mention of that fact, nor does it
indicate that the people of the Hawfields community or the South
generally had any inkling of the tragic days that lay ahead. The
letter spoke of the beauty of the setting, "gay with autumnal hughes,
and bright with October's sun," and then described the preaching
of the Reverend Jacob Henry Smith of Greensboro, who was con-
ducting the communion service for the pastor. The letter does show
that the war had brought a new concern towards spiritual matters,
for when the minister gave the invitation at the close of the service
on Monday, twenty-two retired to the session house to meet with
the pastor. The number continued to increase as the week went on.29

North Carolina was the only Southern state which had a special
agreement with the Confederate Government to clothe her own
soldiers. Large quantities of excellent clothing were manufactured
by the textile mills in the state, and as the war progressed shirts
and trousers were made by "Soldier's Aid Societies" in the towns
and communities of the state. Finally, carpets and quilts from many
homes were made into blankets for the soldiers.30 The Hillsboro
Recorder of March 12, 1862, carried an appeal on the front page
of the paper that appeared regularly until the end of the war:

I am requested by the Governor of your State to call upon you to furnish
for the soldiers in the army woolen socks and blankets for their com-
fort and protection during the approaching winter. Each donor will
please accompany her gift by her name.

R. N. Jones, Sheriff?1

There is no record of any of these societies being organized in
Hawfields, but there are still quite a number of people living in the
community who can recall their grandmothers' telling how they
sewed and knitted for the soldiers.

Hawfields had responded enthusiastically to the first call for
volunteers, and the passage of the Confederate Conscription Act
of 1862 practically drained the community of every able-bodied
man. Only the women and the old men, together with the slaves,
remained to run the farms. As the war progressed, taxes mounted

THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD

i53

and people found it increasingly difficult to pay them. Of all the
taxes, "the Confederate tax in kind" bore most heavily on the peo-
ple. This was a tax of 10 per cent of the annual farm production,
above a specified exemption.32 The merchant advertisements in the
Hillsboro Recorder during the war years tell a grim story of in-
creasing scarcity of goods, especially of salt, and of mounting prices.
By March, 1865, the market price of salt in Raleigh was seventy
dollars per bushel.33 The Raleigh market report for March 27,
1865, gives the price list of the following articles:

Bacon, per pound

% 7-50

Beef, per pound

3.00

Corn, per bushel

30.00

Meal, per bushel

30.00

Coffee, per pound

40.00

Eggs, per dozen

5.00

Fowls, each

6.00

Lard, per pound

7.50

Mollasses, per gallon

25.00

Potatoes, per bushel

30.00

Sweet potatoes, per Bu.

35.00

Wheat, per bushel

50.00

Flour, per barrel

500.00

Pork, per pound

5.50

Sugar, per pound

30.00

Brandy or whiskey per gallon

I00.0034

By 1865, North Carolina was economically prostrate. The con-
ditions, which the people of Hawfields shared, are vividly described
in Mrs. Cornelia Spencer's The Last Ninety Days of the War. Even
the most refined families were reduced to a diet of cornbread,
sorghum, and peas. They seldom were able to eat meat and never
had tea or coffee. Even dried apples were a luxury. Children went
barefooted in winter; and the women made their own shoes, clothes
were turned twice, and patches were patched again. Blankets, win-
dow curtains, and sheets were torn up for hospital use.35

The only time Hawfields saw the troops of either the Union or
the Confederate armies was in the fall of 1864 when the Western
Artillery of the Confederate Army crossed the Haw River at Swep-
sonville and followed the road by the front door of the church on

i54

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

its way to Virginia, just as Cornwallis and his troops had filed by
the old church years before on their way to meet General Greene
at Guilford Court House. But this time there was no pillaging of
the countryside. For thirty-six hours the hungry, half-naked troops
marched by while the women in the houses along the road passed
out what food they could and boiled pots of synthetic coffee for
the hungry men.36

When the war ended, North Carolina, with one-ninth of the
population of the Confederacy, had furnished between one-sixth and
one-seventh of all the Confederate soldiers. On November 19, 1864,
the adjutant-general reported the total number of troops in the
state and Confederate service to be i25,ooo.37 More than 40,000 of
these lost their lives, while thousands of others who returned were
handicapped for life by the loss of arms, legs, or eyes, or by other
injuries.38 There is no record of how many troops came from the
Hawfields community or of how many were killed or died in the
war, but the presence of crippled men in the Hawfields congrega-
tion, within the memory of the present older generation, bore
silent witness to Hawfields' loyalty to a cause.

Hawfields had been spared the ravages of war which other sec-
tions of the South had suffered, so that the greatest disaster that
came to this section as a result of the war was an economic one.
When the tired, maimed, hungry, footsore, and penniless soldiers
straggled home, they found buildings in need of repair, fences
broken down, fields overgrown, and seed lacking. The war had
ended in the spring too late for them to "put in a full crop," and
besides all of these hardships the seasons were unusually unfavor-
able in both 1865 and 1866.39 Perhaps the greatest disaster of all
was the mental attitude produced by the break up of the old way
of life and the realization that it was a way of life never to return.
The recovery, possibly for this reason, was in this case slower than
it had been after the Revolutionary War, when Hawfields had been
overrun by British troops.

The Reconstruction Era, 1865-1870

Once the issues of the war had been settled on the field of
battle, the people of the South had hoped to pick up where they
had left off four years before and rebuild a New South. But all of

THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD

i55

this was changed by the turbulent period of Reconstruction that
followed and that embittered the South more than the war years
had done. It was responsible for the rise of the Ku Klux movement
in nearly every state in the South. The old order of stability and
security had disappeared, and in its place political and social chaos
had come to most of the South. The existing government was
corrupt, inefficient, and lacking both in ability and in desire to deal
with problems that demanded immediate solution. In the begin-
ning the activities of the Klan were not political in purpose but
were designed solely for protection. There was, indeed, a general
sentiment among the people in favor of the movement. But in its
effects it became a very powerful political influence. It was unfor-
tunate that circumstances made necessary an organization that
would have been indefensible under any ordinary series of events.

The Ku Klux movement was especially active in some of the
western counties and in Alamance and Orange counties. In Ala-
mance County the movement was organized into ten camps or
clans; each camp had its own leader, and there was, additionally,
a chief over all of the camps. David Mebane, an elder in Hawfields,
was a leader of one of the camps, and Jacob A. Long was both one
of the leaders of an individual camp and a county chief.40 The
discipline of the movement was at first strong, with all of the
manifestations of its power carefully planned and carried out in
silence and with dispatch. As a result of the Klan's activities crimes
of all sorts decreased rapidly, so by illegal methods the observance
of the law was maintained. When the tendencies of the movement
to lose this order and discipline became evident, it was officially
disbanded in Alamance, but it had now gone beyond the control
of its leaders.41 It has been estimated that there were between six
hundred and seven hundred members of the Klan in Alamance
County and eighteen hundred members in Orange County.42 No
one knows how many of the men in the Hawfields community be-
longed to the Klan, but it is certain that many of them did.

In Alamance County in the years 1868 and 1870, twenty-two
white men and fifty-four Negros were known to have been whipped.
One Negro was hanged and one was shot, and many others were
warned or punished in various ways. In all, ninety persons were
harmed by the activities of the Klan in Alamance County.43 Thirty

Z56

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

persons were harmed in Lincoln County, the largest number in any
county except Alamance.44 On February 26, 1870, a Negro police-
man, Wyatt Outlaw, was hanged in Graham in front of the court-
house. As the members of the Klan went home, a semi-idiotic
Negro, named William Puryear, was thought to have recognized
some of the men. He disappeared that night and his body was
found some weeks later in Back Creek, near where Sam Patton now
lives.45 After this incident several of the Hawfields men went West
for a time. Whether they were directly involved or went out of fear
for their lives if it became known that they were members of the
Klan will never be known. With this incident the activities of the
Klan came to an end in Alamance County.46

In an effort to deal with this situation, Governor Holden on
March 7, 1870, declared Alamance County to be in a state of in-
surrection and ordered Colonel George W. Kirk, the notorious
Tennessee bushwhacker, to take charge of the troops and march
into the county.47 The events which followed are known in North
Carolina history as the Kirk-Holden War. The soldiers were a
disorderly set of men who began roaming through the county in
squads making arrests. Eighty-two men were arrested in Alamance
County, confined to jail, and treated with great brutality and cruel-
ty.48 Those arrested in the Hawfields community were Alexander
Wilson, Alexander Patton, William Patton, M. N. Shaw, Joseph
Gibson, Calvin Gibson, William Kirkpatrick, Frank Mebane, Wil-
liam Clendenin, Henderson Scott, A. A. Thompson, and Jeremiah
Albright.

In an effort to make William Patton tell what he knew about
the activities of the Klan, soldiers drew him up by a noose until he
fainted and then finally tied him up by his thumbs for the night.49
Patton, who was a bachelor and a very quiet man, in after years
held the peculiar veneration and awe of the boys of Hawfields
because he had refused to confess under torture what he knew
about the activities of the Klan.

Jeremiah Albright was arrested at the home of Miss Barbara
Bason ; and when she begged the officer in charge not to hang him,
the officer answered her with profane and vile language and
threatened to burn her home.50 But no mention of these chaotic
days is made in the records of Hawfields Church. Because 1870

THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD

157

was an election year and Governor Holden realized that the elec-
tion was going against him, he declared the insurrection in Ala-
mance County at an end on November 10, 1870. There were those,
however, who could not forget the reign of terror for which Holden
was responsible, and they were determined that he should be brought
to the bar of justice for his misdeeds.

Accordingly, on December 9, Frederick N. Strudwick, who had
been a prominent member of the Klan in Orange County and who
was a descendant of the pioneer Samuel Strudwick, introduced in
the General Assembly a resolution that was adopted, to the effect
"That William H. Holden, Governor of the State of North Caro-
lina, be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanor in office."51
Article No. 7 of the Articles of Impeachment contained the state-
ment, "hanging by the neck William Patton, Lucian H. Murray
and others."52

Governor Holden's trial began on January 31, 1871, and ended
on March 23 with the conviction of the Governor.53 The tragic
decade was over, and with a sense of deep relief the people of Haw-
fields and Alamance County turned to the problems of building a
new way of life.

In spite of the turmoil of the years that immediately followed
the war, the great majority of the people were kept busy with the
commonplace affairs of daily life. The County Commissioners
turned their attention among other things to the problems of the
public schools. On October 15, 1868, three men were appointed
as school committeemen in each of the original school districts.
Those appointed in District No. 4, which was the Hawfields dis-
trict, were William Thompson, Robert F. White, and John W.
Craig. In the county election of 1869 these men from Hawfields
were elected: Stephen White and James C. Patton, Justices of the
Peace; John R. Johnston, clerk; William McAdams, constable; and
Robert F. White, Thadius Freshwater, and Charles Moore, mem-
bers of the school board.54

The First Board of Deacons

Life went on for the church also during these years. At a meet-
ing of the session in March, 1866 (no date for this meeting is given
other than the month), the session discussed the advisability of

158

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

electing deacons for the congregation. This was a new idea; but they
finally decided to select "six suitable persons" to be put in nom-
ination "to be chosen by the congregation the fourth Sabbath in
July, and the following names were selected, Wm. C. Johnston,
Dr. A. Wilson, Stephen A. White, Thomas B. Thompson, John
Wilson and Wm. J. Kerr." These men were elected, ordained, and
installed on July 28, 1866, and became the first deacons in Hawfields
Church.55

Apparently Dr. Wilson did not accept because his name does
not occur in any of the following lists of deacons in the minutes
of the session. When the session met on December 9, 1867, with all
of the elders and deacons present, the treasurer reported the follow-
ing contributions:

Sustentation

$ 20.00

Foreign Missions

27.00

Presbyterial

21.00

S. S. Books

16.65

Pastor's Salary

375-oo

Incidentals

43.00

Balance

26.31

The members decided at this meeting to dispose of the old stoves
in the church and to purchase new ones. The proceeds from the
sale and the balance of $26.31 were appropriated towards this ob-
jective, and Henderson Scott, Thomas B. Thompson, and Stephen
A. White were appointed to a committee to purchase the new
stoves.56

The Me bane Presbyterian Church

The organization of a new church at Mebane in 1868 brought
another change to the Hawfields congregation. The growing com-
munity at Mebanesville and the presence of the Bingham School,
which had been located about a mile east of the village, had created
a need for a Presbyterian Church to serve this area. Just when the
building, which was located about halfway between the village and
the Bingham School, was erected is not clear from the session min-
utes. A meeting of the session which is undated, although it is
evident that is was held in 1868, says that the session met at the

THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD

i59

"Mebanesville Lecture room" for the purpose of granting letters
of dismission "to those desiring to connect themselves with the
newly organized Church."57 Those who were dismissed were Dr.
Benjamin F. Mebane, an elder in the Hawfields Church and his
wife, Fanny Mebane, and Attelia Mebane and Martha Mebane.58
It is noteworthy that in the organization of both the Graham and
the Mebane churches, Hawfields gave one of her strongest elders
to each of the new churches.

Orange Presbytery Centennial

The year 1870 marked the one hundredth anniversary of the
organization of Orange Presbytery which had taken place in the
original Hawfields Church. To celebrate this historic event the
presbytery was invited to hold its September meeting at Hawfields.
The meeting of presbytery in those days was quite an event, usually
lasting for the better part of a week. This was a very special oc-
casion and there was an unusually large attendance. There were
two services on Sunday with the sacrament of the Lord's Supper
held during the morning service. The church was so filled for the
morning service on that day that many were unable to obtain en-
trance. The program for the centennial was held on Monday, Sep-
tember 5, the day of the month on which the presbytery had been
organized. The two men scheduled to speak were the Reverend
Charles Phillips, professor of mathematics and engineering at David-
son College, and the Reverend C. H. Wiley, a native of Guilford
County who at that time was the agent for the American Bible So-
ciety. Neither of these men could be present. Professor Phillips
became ill in Salisbury on his way to the meeting, and Wiley was
detained in Tennessee. The Reverend Jacob Doll of Yanceyville
substituted for Mr. Phillips at the morning service. His address
was statistical and historical and showed that he had done much
careful research into the records of presbytery. It was a study of
the ministers who had been members of the presbytery and of the
people whom they had served.59 Evidently Jacob Doll had pre-
pared this address for delivery at some other point during the pro-
gram. After dinner, which was served on the grounds, the Rev-
erend Joseph M. Atkinson of Raleigh substituted for C. H. Wiley
at the afternoon service. His address was a "general view of the

160 CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

character of the century that had passed since the Presbytery was
organized."60 Following his address there were a number of short,
extemporaneous talks. Among those who spoke were the Reverend
J. Henry Smith of Greensboro, Colonel William Bingham, and
Professor W. C. Kerr, who was state geologist and also a member
of the Hawfields Church. The reporter of this meeting of presby-
tery to The North Carolina Presbyterian concluded his article by
saying, "The congregations were large throughout the recent ses-
sions of the Presbytery, exhibiting an intelligent interest in Church
affairs as well as in the preaching of the Word."61

Death of A. G. Hughes

The Reverend A. G. Hughes died on June 15, 1873.62 He was
about halfway through his sermon at Cross Roads that morning
when he was stricken with paralysis. He spoke to one of the elders
and requested him to close the service with prayer. He was then
lifted from the pulpit and laid on one of the pews where he died
about two hours later. The funeral service was conducted the next
day at Hawfields by J. H. Fitzgerald of Hillsboro, A. Currie of
Graham, C. N. Morrow of Bethlehem, and P. T. Penick of Mebane.
Mr. Penick preached an impressive sermon to a vast congregation.

Almost the last words spoken by Mr. Hughes in the sermon
that he did not finish were, "The past year has been one memorable
in our experience for the chastisement with which God has visited
us. What is in store for us during the year upon which we have
entered is known only to the sovereign disposer of all events."63

He was buried in the Hawfields cemetery just across the road,
almost directly in front of the church. The stone erected to his
memory reads:

Rev. A. G. Hughes

For thirty years the beloved
pastor of the churches of
Hawfields and Cross Roads.

Was born Dec. 10, A.D. 1810
And died June 15, A.D. 1873

THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD

161

Being stricken down in
the pulpit in Cross Roads
Church while preaching
from the text,
"Whatsoever ye shall ask the
Father in my name, he will give it you."

Erected by the people of his charge.

On June 27 there was a joint meeting of the sessions of Haw-
fields and Cross Roads in which an appropriate set of resolutions
was drawn up and signed by the clerks of the two sessions and sent
to The North Carolina Presbyterian for publication. It was a beauti-
ful tribute to the beloved pastor who had worked unselfishly for
so many years among them.64

C. N. Morrow, who knew Anderson Hughes personally, wrote
of him, "Mr. Hughes was a man of imposing appearance, being six
feet three or four inches in height. He was dignified, yet courteous
and affable in his manner. Among his people he was social, and
displayed fine conversational powers."65

Anderson and Anne Hughes had no children; Mrs. Hughes
survived her husband by fourteen years and died on October 13,
1887. She was buried by the side of her husband in the Hawfields
cemetery, near the church the two of them had loved and served
so faithfully through the most prosperous, as well as the most dif-
ficult, years of the history of the church.

CHAPTER IX

THE ERA OF REBUILDING

1 874-1 9OO

The death of A. G. Hughes symbolized the passing of the old
order: the pre-war years, the war itself, the Reconstruction era,
all now lay in the past. Although the war had been over for eight
years, the process of rebuilding the dilapidated and run-down farms
had been slow on account of the troubles that grew out of the Re-
construction period. Politically the country was still in the hands
of the Republican party, which was generally held in disrepute by
the great majority of the people because it had been identified with
the Reconstruction policies; but with the end of the Holden regime
peace and quiet had come, and the people of Alamance could at
last settle down to the task of building a new way of life. In the
quarter of a century that followed, leaders in the political life of the
county and state, as well as the old classical schools, were strikingly
absent from the Hawfields community.

The Reverend Calvin Newton Morrow, 18*73-1882
It was fortunate for the congregation that the session was able
to recommend a successor to Anderson Hughes before the end of
the summer. On September 15, 1873, Archibald Currie, the pastor of
the Graham Presbyterian Church presided over a congregational
meeting at the Hawfields Church which "proceeded to vote for a
pastor." The Reverend C. N. Morrow was unanimously elected,
and a call was made out for him "in accordance with the rules of
the Church."1 The call was considered by Orange Presbytery, meet-
ing at Oxford, and placed in Calvin Morrow's hands and the Rev-
erend P. T. Penick, from the Mebane Church, was appointed to
install him pastor of Hawfields Church. The installation service
was held on Saturday, November 13, 1873.2

THE ERA OF REBUILDING

Morrow was not unknown to the Hawfields community ; in fact
he was related to many of the people there, both on his father's and
his mother's side of the family. He was born on September 19,
1832, one of a family of five brothers and two sisters. His parents,
John and Rachel Thompson Morrow, were among the leading peo-
ple of the prosperous farming community in the Bethlehem neigh-
borhood which was generally known as "The Oaks."

The young Calvin received his early training at the Bingham
School, then located near his father's farm, and from there he en-
tered the University of North Carolina and graduated third in his
class. He received both the B.A. and M.A. degrees in the spring of
1859.3 The following September he married lovely Mary Caroline
Webb, one of the most popular and charming young girls of "The
Oaks" community. Her father was not only a prominent farmer
but also had many business interests and was prominent in the
political life of the county and state. The two families were closely
associated, and Calvin's sister Ellen married one of the Webb boys.4

In the fall of 1859, Morrow entered Union Theological Seminary
at Hampden-Sydney and spent all of 1859 and i860 there. He was
licensed by Orange Presbytery on October 22, i860, and ordained on
April 12, 1862. During the war years he was an evangelist for
Orange Presbytery in Randolph County. In 1865 he returned to his
home community and acted as Stated Supply for the Bethlehem
Church and as a teacher in the Bingham School until he accepted
the call to the Hawfields and Cross Roads churches in 1873.5

When he accepted the call to this field, Morrow moved to Mebane
and bought a large two-story house with a spacious yard and gar-
den lot. The family hired a Negro man, named John, who helped
in the house and kept the yard and garden. John became quite
famous in Mebane for the lovely flowers he grew in the Morrow's
yard.

The minutes of the session reflect the energy and efficiency with
which the new minister began his work. The annual report of the
session to Orange Presbytery the next spring, 1874, is tne first com-
plete report recorded in the minutes of the session. This narrative
report gives a number of interesting details about the life of the
Hawfields Church of that time. The pastor preached "occasionally
to the children." The Church subscribed to The Children's Friend,

164

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

a paper for children that was published for many years by the
Presbyterian Committee of Publication and was widely circulated
through the South. The church also had a library "from the publish-
ing house." The Sunday school enrollment for that year was 150,
with an average attendance of 120. The session also reported with
evident pride that the Sunday school had been "kept up through the
winter months, never having missed a Sunday" and that the weekly
prayer meeting was well attended by the youth of the community.6

While Hawfields was never a wealthy church, the contributions
to benevolent causes of the church were pitifully small, even before
the war years. As far as the records show, Calvin Morrow was the
first of the ministers who served Hawfields and Cross Roads to
make any attempt to stimulate his parishioners' interest in giving.
Evidently he had discussed this matter with the session, for on
March 24, 1876, the members of the session "decided to take up a
special collection for the different committees after divine service."
The session then recessed until after the service and found that the
response to the minister's appeal amounted to fifty-five dollars.

During the annual meeting of the session the next year, on
March 26, 1877, Dr. Wilson suggested that instead of including the
pastor's salary in the weekly collections that it be separated and
raised by personal subscriptions made by direct visitation to all
members of the congregation. He also suggested that it be paid
quarterly instead of at the end of the year. The Sunday morning
collections would then have as much emphasis as possible placed
upon the fact that those offerings would go towards the benevolent
work of the Church. The idea met with opposition, and on
June 2, the session decided to return to the use of the envelope sys-
tem and have the deacons visit among the congregation to supply
every member with envelopes. First the pastor's salary would be
paid from the contributions received in this way, and the remainder
would be apportioned among the various causes of the church.

One amusing incident occurred in these early efforts to build
a constructive stewardship program. In 1879 the session reported
to presbytery that they had "omitted the contribution for Publica-
tion, because there was too much money invested in Brick and
Mortar for a salesroom only."7

Calvin Morrow had come to his new field from the classroom

THE ERA OF REBUILDING

165

of the Bingham School. Therefore he understood the importance
of the educational program of the church and set out to put new
life and vitality into the Sunday school. The Narrative Report of
March 31, 1878, stated that in addition to the school at the church,
"there were three schools in successful operation in the bounds of
this congregation during the past summer."8 These schools were
held in the afternoon and were under the supervision of the elders.
It is impossible to locate two of these schools because the records
simply say that they were "four or five miles from the Church."
The third was a union school of a rather unique nature held at
Swepsonville. When the pupils separated for their classes, they
separated by denominations, a person from each denomination
teaching the children of that particular faith. Morrow devoted half
of his time in the afternoons to preaching to these schools, which
were for a time highly successful and very popular.

In 1878 the church reported that "No colored people are con-
nected with our Church. They have a Pastor of their own who is
doing a good work among them."9 In 1850, one-fifth of the mem-
bership of Hawfields was made up of colored people. One other
interesting fact which comes out of the minutes of this period is
that Hawfields and Cross Roads alternated in sending representa-
tives to the meetings of presbytery and synod. It was during Mor-
row's pastorate, too, that the first organ was placed in the church.

From early manhood the minister had suffered from bronchitis.
The work at Hawfields and Cross Roads, with the outpost preaching
in the afternoons, proved too much for him; when presbytery met
at Lexington in April, 1882, he presented his resignation from the
Cross Roads Church and "that Church was cited to appear, by its
commissioner, at an adjourned meeting of Presbytery to be held
at Cross Roads May 30, 1882 at 2 oclock to show cause why the
relation should not be dissolved."10

Before this meeting in May a congregational meeting had been
held at Hawfields, at which the Reverend George Summey of
Graham presided. At that time Morrow had presented his resig-
nation to be acted on by the congregation. It was a tribute to the
work that the minister had done in the churches in this field that
the congregation at Hawfields was unwilling to accede to their pas-
tor's request.

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

At the same congregational meeting they appointed a com-
mittee composed of John W. Bason, S. A. White, A. V. Craig, J. F.
Albright, John Turner, and S. K. Scott to attend the meeting of
presbytery and ask for a delay because "a sufficient notice had not
been given the congregation." As a result a second congregational
meeting was held on June 13, when the matter was taken up again
and the congregation voted forty-nine for and fifty-six against con-
currence with Morrow's request. Nevertheless, presbytery dissolved
the pastoral relationship between Calvin Morrow and the Hawfields
and Cross Roads churches.

Although there were some financial difficulties between Morrow
and these two churches because they were behind in their payments
on his salary, the primary reason for his resignation was his ill
health. His doctor strongly advising him to move to Florida and
live in the open as much as possible, he sold his home in Mebane
the next year and, storing what provisions they could in their car-
riage, he and his wife set out for Florida. Their journey, of course,
took place before the days of road maps and tourist homes or
motels, so they drove until they were tired and then picked out
some likely home along the way to stop for the night. There is
no record of how long it took them to drive to Florida, but they
found many people willing to give them shelter in their homes
along the way.

On arriving in Florida, the Morrows bought an orange grove
of about four acres, and they lived temporarily in a log hut on the
place until they found a suitable home in the town of Hawthorne,
about four miles from the orange grove. He sent yearly reports
to the presbytery asking to be excused from the meetings on ac-
count of his health. In 1893 he reported that his health was much
improved and asked for a letter of transfer to the Presbytery of
Suwannee. From that time he did occasional supply work until
the death of his wife on September 15, 1904. Her body was brought
back by train and buried in the Webb family plot in the Bethlehem
Cemetery. The Morrows had no children, and after his wife's death
Calvin Morrow sold his orange grove and returned to live with his
sister, Ellen Morrow Webb, at "The Oaks." He died there on
March 14, 1914.11

THE ERA OF REBUILDING

167

The Reverend Samuel Hall Chester, 1884-1889

The minutes of the session give us no idea who supplied the
pulpit at Hawfields between the resignation of Calvin Morrow
and the acceptance of the call by S. H. Chester, but they do give
a rather full account of the efforts that were made to secure his
successor. On October 1, 1882, the congregation elected A. M.
Watson of Lexington to supply the church for one year, but he
declined to accept. On the following Sunday, October 8, the com-
mittee presented three names to the congregation to be voted upon.
J. C. Alexander of Buffalo, in Guilford County, received a majority
of the votes, but he declined to accept the call.12

The next spring, June 24, 1883, a call was made out for B. W.
Mebane of Bristol, Tennessee, and the congregation appointed a
committee composed of S. K. Scott, J. I. White, John A. Patton,
W. H. Bason, and John Turner to prosecute the call before Abing-
don Presbytery at its next meeting, to be held at Draper's Valley
on August 31. However, Abingdon Presbytery refused to place the
call in B. W. Mebane's hands. Evidently, though, he had expressed
to the committee some interest in coming to Hawfields, so they
refused to give up in their efforts to bring him to this field. On
October 28, the congregation renewed the call and again Abingdon
Presbytery refused to let him move. The committee did not give
up until they received a letter from Mebane requesting that they
refrain from further efforts to move him, stating that he could not
accept a call at that time.13 As a result of all this correspondence
a tie was formed between Mebane and the Hawfields congregation
which made them turn to him again in 1906.

Next, however, they turned to Hugh Strong of Wallace, South
Carolina, and invited him to visit the field and preach a trial ser-
mon with a view to a call. Nothing is said about his visit, but on
December 8, the sessions of Hawfields and Cross Roads met together
to discuss the question of extending to him a call. But remembering
the problem of Calvin Morrow's health, they decided "that the
feeble voice and apparent weak physical condition of Mr. Strong
would greatly militate against his usefulness."14

The secretary of that meeting was then instructed to correspond
with S. H. Chester of Maysville, Kentucky, with a view to extending
to him a call. Through the correspondence that followed, a congre-

i68

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

gational meeting was held on March 30, 1884, at which time the
Reverend S. H. Chester was unanimously elected pastor; his
salary of four hundred dollars per year for one half of his time was
to be paid quarterly. The call was then approved by the April meet-
ing of presbytery and William F. Wilhelm, pastor of the Eno group
of churches, and T. C. Johnston, an elder from Hawfields, were
appointed to a committee to arrange for his installation "at Haw-
fields on Saturday before the fourth Sabbath in June."15

Samuel Hall Chester, the son of Charles and Caroline Yemans
Chester, was born at Mt. Holly, Arkansas, on January 17, 1851.
He entered Washington College (now Washington and Lee Uni-
versity) while Robert E. Lee was president of that institution and
graduated as valedictorian of his class in 1872.16 That fall he en-
tered Union Theological Seminary at Hampden-Sydney where he
made a brilliant record, graduating in the spring of 1875. He was
licensed by Ouachita Presbytery of the Synod of Arkansas in June
and accepted a call to the Unity and Castanea group of churches in
Mecklenburg Presbytery, where he was ordained and installed in
October, 1875.17

In 1882 he resigned his pastorate and entered Union Theological
Seminary in New York for graduate study. It was there that he
met and fell in love with Susan Willard, a young girl in her teens,
from Wilmington, North Carolina, who was visiting in New York
that winter.18 From New York, he went to Maysville, Kentucky,
and was serving that church as Stated Supply when the Hawfields
and Cross Roads churches approached him with a view to a call.

These two congregations were now faced with the problem of
providing a home for their new young minister who was about to
be married. All of the former ministers had owned their own
homes, and with the exception of Calvin Morrow they had all
lived in the country and had supplemented their meager salaries
by farming. The church now did what the synod had recommended
as far back as 1765; they provided a home for the new minister.
A Hawfields committee, working with a similar committee from
the Cross Roads Church, recommended at a congregational meeting
held on April 13, 1884, that these churches purchase the Morrow
property in Mebane to be used as a manse.

This committee, which was composed of S. M. White, T. B.

THE ERA OF REBUILDING

169

Thompson, and Joe Tate, continued to function, and the following
persons were added to it to help raise the money to buy the prop-
erty: R. W. Scott, John Turner, J. T. Albright, George Curtis, J. I.
White, Mrs. S. A. White, Mrs. J. I. White, Miss Jennie White, Mrs.
J. R. Bason, Mrs. M. E. Wilson, Mrs. C. Johnston and Mrs. E.
Sharp.19 S. H. Chester later wrote of his new home, "We had a
two acre lot with fruit trees and room for a garden, and some
splendid oaks in the front yard."20

At the same meeting in which the initial property committee
was set up, elder T. C. Johnston read an invitation from Mr. and
Mrs. A. A. Willard to the congregation to attend the marriage of
their daughter, Susie Willard, to the Reverend S. H. Chester in
the First Presbyterian Church of Wilmington, North Carolina. The
wedding was to take place two days later, on April 15, 1884, and
the ceremony was to be performed by Dr. Joseph R. Wilson, the
father of Woodrow Wilson.21

The new minister and his bride from the city were greatly im-
pressed with their new home. Years later Dr. Chester wrote, "the
general average intelligence of the entire community" was "much
above that to be found in most country churches in North Carolina
at that period. In our pastoral work we found many homes of
comfort and refinement."22

It had been some time since Orange Presbytery had met at Haw-
fields; therefore, the session extended to that body an invitation
to hold its next meeting, on August 19 through 22, 1885, at Haw-
fields and appointed a committee to "paint the Church building and
make other necessary repairs."23

An item of particular interest was decided upon at this Haw-
fields meeting of the presbytery. The members voted to have his-
torical sketches of all the churches written and appointed a par-
ticular person in each church to write the sketch. Stephen A. White
was appointed to write the sketch of Hawfields. Only parts of his
sketch remain among the historical papers of Hawfields Church.
When the presbytery adjourned, it passed a resolution of thanks
for the "Christian hospitality" of the congregation.24

The minutes of the session give very little information with re-
gard to the work of the church during S. H. Chester's pastorate.
One narrative report states that the Sunday school had been kept

170

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

open during the winter and that the pastor conducted weekly prayer
meeting services. By this time, apparently, the pattern of the min-
ister's life had become pretty well set. He concentrated his efforts
on the Sunday service, spent some time in conducting a midweek
prayer service, routinely visited the members of his congregation,
and carried on an evangelistic service during the summer as the
highlight of the year's work. In later years Dr. Chester wrote of
these meetings, "My experience convinced me that protracted meet-
ings, held in the summer when the 'crops are laid by' are an in-
dispensable feature in the program of a successful country pastor-
ate."25 It was in these summer meetings that the young people of
the community were gathered into the church.

In one of his books, Dr. Chester relates two incidents that give
a bit of local color to the community during his ministry at Haw-
fields. Shortly after he and his wife were settled in the manse, one
of his wife's bridesmaids paid them a visit. Since neither of the
ladies had ever seen anything of country life, Chester harnessed
up "Old John" and set out with them on a three-day pastoral tour.
The first evening they reached the home of an elderly couple who
had anticipated their coming and killed a hog in honor of the oc-
casion. They sat down to "a table loaded with everything that per-
tained to hog killing, with corn pone and hot biscuits and apple pie
and several kinds of cakes."26

In 1889 he was sent to the meeting of the General Assembly at
Chattanooga, Tennessee, by Orange Presbytery. For this occasion
his churches fitted him out with a new suit of clothes and a silk
hat. One day on the train, as he was passing from one coach to
another, a gust of wind got under his hat "and when last seen it
was floating top side down on a pond of water we were passing."27
Dr. Chester says that it was the only silk hat he ever owned.

As yet the state had done little in the way of providing public
schools since the Civil War, but there were a number of private
schools conducted in the Hawfields community which were pat-
terned somewhat after the classical schools of pre-war years. On
June 12, 1887, the session granted permission to James Ira White
to conduct a school in the session house, and for the use of the
building he was to pay rent of one dollar a month. These schools

THE ERA OF REBUILDING 171

made the old session house famous and James Ira White taught two
generations of Hawfields boys and girls there. Many who are still
living in the Hawfields community recall vividly his theory of edu-
cation— that the hickory switch is the best inducement to learning.
The sessions were opened each morning with Bible reading; then
everyone prayed together the Lord's Prayer. After this each pupil
was required to recite a verse from the Bible, and failure to do so
brought the inevitable punishment. The boys who had neglected
to learn their verse invariably fell back on the famous verse, "Jesus
wept" (John 11:35). The pupils ranged in academic standing all
the way from beginners to the older boys and girls who read Bing-
ham's Julius Caesar in Latin.

A. A. Thompson, who shared J. I. White's theory of education,
also taught in the Hawfields at the same time. White received his
training at the Alexander Wilson school, and Thompson received
his at the Bingham school.28 Both of these men were active mem-
bers of Hawfields Church.

At the commencement of 1889, Davidson College honored the
minister of Hawfields and Cross Roads by conferring upon him the
honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity.29 On August 25, 1889, Dr.
Chester resigned to accept the pastorate of the Presbyterian Church
at Franklin, Tennessee. In his later years he wrote affectionately
of his years at Hawfields, "Altogether we spent five years at Haw-
fields and Cross Roads, made happy by seeing our work blessed in
the upbuilding of our churches and by the appreciation of a devoted
people."30

Dr. Chester served a short time at Franklin, Tennessee, and at
the Second Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1894
he became Secretary of the Executive Committee of Foreign Mis-
sion of the Presbyterian Church, U.S., a position he held until
191 1. In that year he was made Secretary of Foreign Correspond-
ence, a post he held until he retired in 1927. During these years,
Dr. Chester endeared himself to the entire Southern Presbyterian
Church. After his retirement he bought a home at Montreat, where
he died on April 27, 1940.31 Dr. Chester ranks with Henry Pattillo
as being one of the two Hawfields' ministers who obtained national
recognition.

172

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Goodridge A. Wilson, 188^8^1
When Dr. Chester resigned on August 25, 1889, he suggested
to the session that they secure the Reverend G. L. Cook, who at
that time was serving as an evangelist for Bethel Presbytery in South
Carolina, to supply until a new minister could be secured. When
the session met on September 1, it was reported that G. L. Cook
was not available. Then the session appointed Stephen A. White
and S. K. Scott a committee to confer with a similar committee
from Cross Roads "with a view to securing a pastor."32 There is
no record of how this joint committee got in touch with Goodridge
Wilson, but two weeks later they recommended to the congrega-
tion the name of the Reverend Goodridge A. Wilson, who was then
pastor of the Cook's Creek Church, a large country church in Lex-
ington Presbytery, Virginia. The committee stated that Cross Roads
had already made out a call for him, and the Hawfields congrega-
tion then voted unanimously to extend a call to him also. The con-
gregation appointed S. A. White to work with the committee from
Cross Roads in handling the details connected with his moving and
installation.

Goodridge Alexander Wilson, the son of William Venerable and
Grace Ann Wilson was born at Clarksville, Virginia, on October
5, 1850, while his father was the minister of the church there. He
was a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College and Union Theologi-
cal Seminary. Following his graduation from the Seminary in 1877,
he married Fannie Campbell of Hampden-Sydney, among whose
forefathers there were many distinguished preachers. Before coming
to Hawfields, Wilson had held three pastorates in Virginia.33

Wilson's stay was very brief, and little information pertaining
to his work in Hawfields is mentioned in the minutes of the ses-
sion. Calvin Morrow had been interested in doing something to
promote offerings for the benevolent causes contributed to by the
church, and Goodridge Wilson again took up the subject with
the session. He suggested that the congregation be divided into
districts and that a committee consisting of members living in each
district be appointed for each of the Assembly's causes. In this
way he hoped that a widespread interest in the benevolent causes
of the Church would be created. At this same meeting of the ses-
sion the deacons were "instructed to collect a fund for the cemetery.

THE ERA OF REBUILDING

173

Ten dollars." This is the first mention of any effort toward the
upkeep of the cemetery.

Efforts had been made from time to time to keep the Sunday
school open all of the year, but bad weather and poor roads had
made it impossible for this to become a permanent practice. For
the same reason the weekly prayer meetings never became a perma-
nent part of the activities of the church, although they were revived
again and again.

Goodridge Wilson, Jr., was a small boy of four when the Wilsons
lived in the manse at Mebane, but he still recalls vividly the scup-
pernong vine in the yard and the beautiful bay horse that his
father purchased from Henderson Scott. They named the horse
Scott and brought him to New Providence when they moved to
Virginia.34

Wilson was very fond of hunting and fishing and was noted,
in every pastorate which he served, for his skill in these sports.
Because of the great abundance of quail in the Hawfields and Cross
Roads communities, many of his friends would come to visit him
during hunting season.

The pastor resigned in the fall of 1891 and accepted a call to the
New Providence Church in Lexington Presbytery, Virginia. In
1897, while he was at New Providence, Washington and Lee Univer-
sity conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity.35
Nearly forty-five years of his ministry were spent in Lexington
Presbytery. Dr. Wilson died at Lexington on June 11, 1943. One
of his lifelong friends wrote of him, "He was one of the biggest-
hearted men I have ever known, incapable of anything that smacked
of sham or pretense."36

The Beginning of Leadership in Agriculture

The difficulties that confronted the North Carolina farmer after
the war led many of the more thoughtful people of the state to
turn from agriculture to industry, and there was a growing feeling
that the future of the state lay in industrial development rather than
in the field of agriculture. In the two decades that followed the
war the state experienced a period of expansion and prosperity in
manufacturing, transportation, and banking; but the farmer in North
Carolina did not share in this development, and by the eighties and

i74

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

nineties his position in the general economy of the state had become
critical.

Several movements or farm organizations sprang up in those
years for the purpose of helping this critical farm situation. In
Alamance County the most powerful of this kind of organization
was "The Farmers' Alliance." The Alliance first appeared in North
Carolina in 1874, and within a year there were ninety thousand
members in the state.37

The Farmers' Alliance began as a non-political organization. Its
primary purpose was to better the farmer's condition through a
program of education in new and better farm methods and practices.
But despite its declaration of purpose the movement soon became a
powerful political organization. The Progressive Farmer of 1888
stated, "We don't advise bringing politics into the farmer's organ-
ization, but we advise taking agricultural questions into politics.
Take these questions into your nominating conventions, have them
put into your political platforms and see to it that your candidates
shall stand strictly and squarely upon them."38

It was this growing demand for political action on the part of
the farmers of the state that led R. W. Scott, a progressive young
farmer of the Hawfields community to enter the Democratic pri-
mary of 1888 as a candidate for the House of Representatives. R. W.
Scott had been a student at the Bingham School and later at the
University of North Carolina. He returned from the University
to the farm in Hawfields and became one of the most progressive
and outstanding farmers in the state. His election to the General
Assembly in that year, at the age of twenty-seven, was the begin-
ning of a long and distinguished career of public service on behalf
of the agricultural development of North Carolina.39

The Reverend R. W. Culbertson, '#92-/906

There is no mention in the minutes of the session of the resigna-
tion of Goodridge Wilson or of who supplied the pulpit during the
following months. At a congregational meeting on December 27,
1 891, R. W. Culbertson of the Buffalo and Bethel churches in Guil-
ford County was unanimously elected as the new pastor. Mr. Cul-
bertson accepted the call, and he and his family moved to the manse
in Mebane in the early months of 1892.40

•

THE ERA OF REBUILDING

i75

Richard Watt Culbertson was born on a farm at Woodleaf in
Rowan County, North Carolina, on March 26, i860. He entered
Davidson College in 1880 and graduated in three years. After teach-
ing school for two years he entered Union Theological Seminary
and graduated in 1887. On November 19 of that year he was or-
dained by Concord Presbytery and accepted a call to the Buffalo
and Bethel group of churches. He served there for five years before
he came to the Hawfields and Cross Roads congregations. His
wife was Anna Johnston, also of Woodleaf. There were four chil-
dren in the Culberston family: Mary, Frances Ruth, Lucy Knox,
and Clara Lee.41 During his stay at Buffalo he had built a reputa-
tion for being "a strong preacher and a tireless worker." Arriving at
his new field when he was thirty-two years old, he was to give the
best years of his ministry to the Hawfields and Cross Roads churches.

Culbertson's ministry in all of the churches that he served showed
that he was especially interested in Home Missions, both in the
churches he served and in the presbytery. During his stay at Buf-
falo he had been responsible for building up and organizing the
church at Midway and for building the manse at Bessemer. Shortly
after he arrived in the Hawfields community, the Alamance Gleaner
of April 28, 1892, announced that "It was arranged at the recent
session of Orange Presbytery to organize a new Presbyterian church
two miles south of Graham on 5th Sunday in May." W. R. Cop-
pedge, R. W. Culbertson, and elder A. V. Craig were appointed to
effect the organization.42

For many years the minister at Hawfields had conducted serv-
ices at the point now organized as Little Alamance. Culbertson
continued to preach there from time to time even after its name
was later changed to Bethany. This was the last of the churches
that had grown out of the original Hawfields Church. The others
were New Hope, Hillsboro, Bethlehem, Crossroads, Graham, Meb-
ane, and now Bethany. The narrative reports to presbytery con-
tinue to mention one outpost mission conducted by the Hawfields
Church and state that the pastor preached regularly to the children
there. Whether this refers to Bethany or to a mission at some other
place is not clear.

R. W. Culbertson was a hard worker and one who took his
responsibility seriously. He served on many committees in the

176

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

presbytery connected with Home Mission work and for years he
served as chairman of the presbytery's Home Mission committee.
When he offered his resignation as chairman of this committee be-
cause of the pressure of work in his pastorate, the presbytery re-
fused to accept it and stated that the past year had demonstrated
beyond all question R. W. Culbertson's "extraordinary ability, en-
ergy, and wisdom" as a Home Mission chairman.43

The first mention of Young People's and Women's organiza-
tions in the minutes of the session occur in the narrative report of
the session for the year ending March 31, 1901. This report mentions
three societies of a total membership of thirty. They were the Chil-
dren's Foreign Missionary Society, with ten members; the Ladies'
Foreign Mission Society, with ten members; and the Ladies' Aid
Society, with ten members.44 From that date on they are irregularly
mentioned in the yearly narrative report to presbytery.

In 1903 the children's society was called the Children's Mission
Band; Mrs. Stephen A. White was named president of the Ladies'
Aid Society and Miss Sally Albright president of the Missionary
Society. Apparently the clerk of the session in those days did not
think it important to copy these annual reports to presbytery in
full, just as he did not always mention the superintendent of the
Sunday school. Consequently, the minutes do not help very much
in determining when these societies were first organized. Tradition,
however, holds that Mrs. Chester organized the first societies for
the women and for the young girls.

The years between Anderson Hughes's and R. W. Culbertson's
pastorates had been years of recovery and the building of a new
way of life for the people of Hawfields. The ministry of Culbert-
son saw the beginning of those movements that were to place
Hawfields once more in a place of leadership in the county and
state. The general optimism of the community is reflected in a
letter from J. I. White to the Alamance Gleaner, dated April 25,
1892, in which he describes a recent visit to Hawfields and says
that the congregation was delighted with their new minister (who
was to be installed on the second Sunday in May by W. R. Cop-
pedge of Graham and J. H. Lacy of Greensboro). White had called
on one of the elders of the church whose farm was "green with
good wheat, oats and clover" and who had "plenty of corn in the

THE ERA OF REBUILDING

177

crib, wheat in the garner, bacon in the smokehouse, fat shoats in
the lot and yearlings and lambs in the pasture." The crops of the
farmers were promising, and "as evidence of this nobody is grum-
bling."45

The most far-reaching change which took place in the Haw-
fields community during Culbertson's ministry was the reorganiza-
tion of the public school system at the beginning of the new cen-
tury. Although constitutional government had been restored by
the election of Zebulon B. Vance as governor in 1876, the political
system remained far from stable. The Democratic party was ultra-
conservative, corruption in government during the last quarter of
the century was the rule rather than the exception, Negroes were
still appointed to state and county offices for political reasons, the
state was troubled by debt, and there was a strong aversion to
any increase in the already high tax rate, especially since farm
prices continued to be low. Consequently, the public schools of
those years showed little improvement over the old field schools
of the pre-war years.

There is little information about the schools in Alamance County
in the last twenty-five years of the century in the county records.
Nevertheless, a broad general picture of the situation can be con-
structed from the memories of some of the older citizens of the
community. Some of their recollections have been preserved in a
paper written by Ruth Covington (now Mrs. R. L. Webster) in
1 91 8, while she was a student at the Hawfields School.

The schoolhouses were still unpainted one-room buildings, poor-
ly built and poorly equipped. There were six of these schools with-
in the Hawfields community, which made it possible for all of the
children to attend school by walking about one or two miles to
school each day. The oldest of these was on what is now the E. C.
Turner farm, just below the present cemetery which dates from
pre-war days. There was another schoolhouse about two miles
southeast on the Crutchfield farm, serving the children as far east
as the county line; another on the Clendenin farm just south of
the present Scott farm; another on the present Ray farm just east
of Swepsonville, which was later moved to the village and became
the Swepsonville school ; and another near Back Creek on the Dixon
farm.

178

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

The best equipped of these one-room buildings was located on
the Patton farm and was built in the early eighties.46 The school
term lasted from three to four months of the year, sometimes being
lengthened by private subscriptions from the patrons. In addition
to the public schools there were several subscription schools within
the bounds of the congregation. One of these was taught by James
Ira White in the session house. The last person to conduct a school
in the session house was Mr. T. D. Dupey of Davidson, North
Carolina. For some years there was a private school taught at the
Bason place by Miss Lizzie Brown and Miss Fannie Bradshaw, and
there was a private school at the Scott place.

Some of those remembered as having taught in these schools
were William Thompson, Robert Mitchell, Currie Kirkpatrick, J. I.
White, Armstrong Tate, A. A. Thompson, Miss Bertie Thompson,
Miss Fannie White, William York, J. E. Crutchfield, Paisley White,
Miss Fannie Foust, and Miss Artelia Jones.47 Most of these teachers,
to whom many thanks are owed, were members of the Hawfields
community. With practically no facilities and with meager pay,
they educated more than a generation of the Hawfields boys and
girls.

CHAPTER X

THE DAWN OF A NEW CENTURY

I9OOI925

The dawn of the new century found North Carolina in the
midst of the most memorable political campaign and election in
the annals of the state. A new day had dawned for education, and
agriculture and industry had begun to take on new life. What
this was to mean for the Hawfields community can only be under-
stood in the light of the larger movements that were stirring not
only the Hawfields community but the entire state of North Caro-
lina at the end of the century. The lethargy and defeatism that
had been so characteristic of the years following the reconstruction
era were finally shaken off, and a new spirit took possession of
the people of the state as the century came to an end. The most
significant of these events were the achievement of political stability
and a people thoroughly aroused to the need for an adequate public
school program. These two issues were so intertwined that they
need to be considered together.

One of the most unusual groups of men in the history of North
Carolina in modern times was brought to the fore. They were
Charles D. Mclver, who founded and built the State Normal School
in Greensboro in 1891 ;* Dr. Edwin A. Alderman, who later became
President of the University of North Carolina; Walter Hines Page,
who later became the United States Ambassador to Great Britain
during World War I; Charles B. Aycock, who was elected Governor
of the state in 1900; and Furnifold M. Simmons, who later became
United States Senator from North Carolina and who dominated
the Democratic party in North Carolina for more than thirty years.

As far back as the early eighties and during the nineties Mclver
and Alderman, as young men, began a crusade on behalf of public

i8o

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

education in North Carolina. They stumped the state like political
campaigners, talking to gatherings and to individuals wherever they
could get a hearing. The ground work that these men did created
a growing concern about the situation among thoughtful people
all through the state. In 1897, Walter Hines Page delivered an
address at the State Normal College in Greensboro which stirred
not only North Carolina but the entire Southland. The title of his
address was "The Forgotten Man," in which he made a powerful
appeal for the people of the state to accept their responsibility to-
wards the public education of their children.

Page pointed out that it was a fundamental American doctrine
that education was a function of the state and said that the fear of
taxation which had been fostered by the politicians was responsible
for "the foundation of our poverty."2 He spoke with the enthusiasm
of a great reformer who was seeking to usher in a new day for
his state. In a few weeks his Greensboro address had made its way
all over the South and "the forgotten man," recognized as a mean-
ingful image, had sunk deep into the popular consciousness. Wher-
ever groups of people gathered— this was particularly true in the
Hawfields community — the school issue was the subject of con-
versation.

The development on the political scene turned out to be a tre-
mendous asset to the school situation. In the election of 1896 a
fusion of the Republican and Populist parties defeated the Demo-
crats and elected a Republican governor for the state, placing a
majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives.3 Gov-
ernor Russell soon became very unpopular with the masses because
of his appointments, particularly Negroes, to public office. The
legislature also changed the election laws so that illiterate Negroes
by the thousands were permitted to vote, a situation that put many
of the counties of the state under the political domination of the
Negroes.4 It was this state of affairs that set the stage for the "White
Supremacy" campaign of 1898.

In preparation for this campaign, the Democrats elected Furni-
fold M. Simmons to be State Chairman for the party. Simmons
was a master organizer and a shrewd political strategist who gath-
ered around him some of the keenest men of his party. These men
made white supremacy and free public education the issues for the

THE DAWN OF A NEW CENTURY

181

next campaign. Simmons' organization resulted in a sweeping
victory for the Democrats in 1898. A constitutional amendment re-
stricting suffrage by means of an educational qualification accom-
panied by a "grandfather clause" was adopted, to be submitted to
the people for ratification in the 1900 election. The "grandfather
clause" provided that no male who had been entitled to vote on
January 1, 1867, or his lineal descendant, should be denied the
right to vote.5 This provision enabled many whites to vote without
taking the literacy test, but of course it excluded all Negroes who
could not pass the test.

The Campaign of 1900 was the most exciting campaign in North
Carolina since Civil War days. The issues — white supremacy and
free public education — were clear-cut. The highly emotional appeal
of the white supremacy issue gave a prominence to the educational
issue that it could never have achieved otherwise. Charles B. Ay-
cock, the candidate for governer, was a man of unusual ability who
had long been an advocate of free public education. It was a tribute
to Aycock's greatness that he turned the emotions which had been
aroused by the racial issue into a crusade for public education. In
the 1898 election an organization known as the Red Shirts appeared,
in which "Men wore flaming red shirts, rode horses, carried rifles,
paraded through Negro communities, and appeared at political
rallies, especially Republican rallies."6 In 1900 this organization
was even more active than it had been in 1898, and five hundred Red
Shirts attended a political rally in Burlington.7 There are still a
number of men living in the Hawfields community who can recall
the excitement created by this parade, so suggestive of the stirring
days of their grandfathers, when the Ku Klux Klan rode in Ala-
mance.

The exciting campaign took on an added interest for the Haw-
fields community when R. W. Scott, one of the elders in the Haw-
fields Church became a candidate for the state senate from the
Eighteenth Senatorial District, and he and his opponent covered the
district in a series of political debates still remembered in Haw-
fields. Scott was a master debater and flayed his opponent and the
party platform for which he stood. Scott's election once more placed
the Hawfields community in a position of leadership in county and
state affairs such as it had enjoyed in the early days when the

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CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Mebanes and later when Murphey and Ruffin were great political
leaders. Governor Aycock appointed Scott to the State Board of
Agriculture, and it was in that he was to render his greatest service
to the state.

The election of 1900 resulted in a sweeping victory for the Dem-
ocratic ticket, and under Governor Aycock's leadership North Caro-
lina began to tackle the educational problem in earnest. School-
houses, "Many of them beautiful, commodious modern structures"
were built all over the state at the rate of one a day.8 The Haw-
fields public school was one of the new schoolhouses built during
the flurry of interest stirred up by the election.

The Hawfields Public School

Under the leadership of Dr. W. S. Long, the County Superin-
tendent of Public Instruction, who had worked for a long time
towards the betterment of the school system of Alamance County,
plans were made for the new grade school in Hawfields. A tract
of land was purchased from the William and Sandy Patton farm,
less than a mile from the church and, with money and labor con-
tributed by the people of the community, a large, two-room, frame
building was erected and was painted white with green shutters
and trimmings. The rooms were separated by two large doors that
could be raised and lowered like a window sash. Doors of this ar-
rangement made it possible to use the two rooms as an auditorium
for school assemblies and for community gatherings. A community
project, the building at the time of its completion was one of the
best and most attractive rural schools in the county.

The school opened in the fall of 1902 with Miss Ella Anderson
and Miss Nettie Spencer as the first teachers.9 All of the effort that
the community had put forth to secure one of the first schools under
the state's new program for public education had been abundantly
rewarded. Since the Civil War had become a memory, the com-
munity had definitely turned its face to a progressive future.

There were no churches of other denominations within the
bounds of the Hawfields community and school district. Other
denominations had concentrated on the towns of the surrounding
area. For this reason practically all of the pupils and patrons of
the new school were from Hawfields families. The church and

THE DAWN OF A NEW CENTURY 183

school formed one community. Even after the school's consolida-
tion with the Alexander Wilson School later on, the Presbyterian
influence continued to predominate.

To persuade the people to vote a school tax for the support of
the public schools was the most difficult task confronting those who
joined in the crusade for public education in the state. In February,
1902, Governor Ay cock called for a conference of educational work-
ers to meet in the governor s office in Raleigh. As a result of the
meeting a committee composed of Aycock, Mclver, and Eugene C.
Brooks was formed to launch an intensive campaign for the pro-
motion of public education. Hundreds of educational rallies were
held throughout the state which were supported by the newspapers,
ministers, and public spirited citizens. They called for "free public
schools, open to all, supported by the taxes of all its citizens."10
By the end of the 1903 campaign more than 350 educational rallies
and also many local rallies, had been held in the state.11

The Alamance Gleaner of April 16, 1903, carried an account of
Aycock's visit to Alamance County and to the Hawfields community.
On April 15, Aycock spoke in the courthouse at Graham at eleven
o'clock before a packed house. That night }. Y. Joyner, State Super-
intendent of Public Instruction, spoke. Both men stressed the im-
portance of "equality of education for all" and pointed out the
advantages it would bring to the community. On the next after-
noon the Governor, accompanied by Banks Holt, Dr. W. S. Long,
and J. Y. Joyner, spoke in the Hawfields Church and at Mebane
that night.12 This was the first time a Governor of the state had
ever spoken in the Hawfields community and the church was filled
to capacity. At the close of the service two little girls, Mildred
White and Ina Evans, went forward and presented each of the
speakers with a large bouquet of flowers.

A tax levy for the support of these public schools was voted upon
in the various school districts in Alamance County. It was evident
from the first that the voting in the Hawfields district would be
close because there were still many in the community, especially
those who did not have children to educate, who were opposed to
any tax levy whatsoever. A concerted effort was made by both
sides to get out every possible voter. A short time before the polls
closed, James Covington went to see a Negro man by the name of

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CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Lawson Chavis, who was entitled to vote but who had not done so.
Chavis explained that he had been threatened with eviction from
his home if he voted for the tax levy. Whereupon, Mr. Covington
hurried home and got permission from his mother-in-law, Mrs.
David Turner, to move Chavis into a log cabin that she owned,
just behind where Mr. Dewey Covington now lives. He then took
Chavis to the polls, and that night after supper he moved him into
his new home. When the votes were counted, the election had been
carried by one vote. A Negro man who was a bachelor and who
had no children of his own to educate had cast the deciding ballot
in the election for progress in education.13

Between 1903 and 1905 a third room was added to the school
building, and Miss Anderson began giving music lessons on a reed
organ that had been purchased by the community. In 1907 the
General Assembly passed "An act to stimulate high school instruc-
tion in the public schools" and made an appropriation for that
purpose.14 In the same year high school subjects began to be taught
in the Hawfields school. George W. Oldham from the Bethlehem
community, who had just graduated from the University of North
Carolina, became the first principal. Miss Lena Blue and Miss Ella
Anderson were his assistants, and Mrs. Oldham became the in-
structor in music. George Oldham had been the star pitcher on
one of the University's famous baseball teams and so was of course
the idol of all the boys of the community. But when the young
principal organized a baseball team for the boys, there was much
shaking of heads among the older people. His was the first effort
to provide some planned recreational activity for the young people
of the community.

The high school that first year was maintained partly by private
subscription. The first annual report of the Inspector of High
Schools for the state singled out the achievements of the Hawfields
and Friendship schools and communities for special commenda-
tion.15

The first student to attend college from this new school was
Iola Patton, who entered Elon College in the fall of 1908. In the
fall of 1909 three other students from this school entered college.
Robert White and Herbert Turner entered Davidson College, and
Malcolm McLean entered the University of North Carolina. These

THE DAWN OF A NEW CENTURY 185

were the first of a long list of boys and girls from this school who
went on to receive a college education. Some of them returned
to the community and others took their place in the life of other
communities in the state. One of the pupils of this school was to
become governor of North Carolina.

A New Grouping of the Churches

A new spirit had now come to the Hawfields, and the church
felt that the time had come for the community to have a minister
who would live in the community and be identified with its life
and activities. Orange Presbytery approved the idea and felt that
such a move would make for a more effective grouping of the
churches of that area. Presbytery now divided the Cross Roads and
Hawfields pastorate and grouped Greers and Stony Creek with
Cross Roads and Bethlehem, Saxapahaw, and Bethany with Haw-
fields.16 By this grouping the southern part of the original Haw-
fields community was again brought together as one pastorate. It
was also the natural grouping. The members of the Cross Roads
field were now primarily tobacco-raising farmers, while the Haw-
fields group raised more grain and cattle.

R. W. Culbertson chose to accept the Cross Roads group, and a
called meeting of Orange Presbytery was held in Burlington on
June 12, 1906, which dissolved the pastoral relation between Cul-
bertson and the Hawfields Church. At that time the happy re-
lationship that had existed between these two churches for more
than a hundred years came to an end.

Mr. Culbertson served the Cross Roads field until 1908 and then
moved to Concord Presbytery and served the Centre and Prospect
group of churches until 1915. From 1915 to 1920 he was pastor of
the Poplar Tent and Gilwood group of churches. His last pastorate
was the Central Steele Creek and Pleasant Hill group of churches,
which he served from 1920 to 1930.17 "During the latter years he
became infirm, having worn himself out with hard work, and
made his home with his daughter at Cameron, North Carolina,
where he died on August 24, 1932 and was buried in the cemetery
at Mooresville, North Carolina."18

i86

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

The Reverend B. W. Mebane, igoj-1911
The resignation of Mr. Culbertson, and the action of Orange
Presbytery in making two new fields by a regrouping of the church-
es of this area, made it necessary for Hawfields to look for a new
minister and also to provide him with a manse. Both of these mat-
ters were considered at the session and congregational meetings that
were held in the summer and fall of 1906. The congregation had
made a determined effort to secure B. W. Mebane before a call had
been issued to Dr. Chester in 1884, and now the officers turned
to him again. Dr. Mebane had begun his ministry in Graham and
was not unknown to the members of the Hawfields congregation.
Evidently preliminary steps had been taken in this direction. For
on October 14, 1906, at a congregational meeting, a committee com-
posed of George Rogers of Bethany, George Williamson of Sax-
apahaw, Thomas Oldham and Lexie Morrow of Bethlehem, James
R. White, E. C. Turner, J. A. Patton, Robert W. Scott, S. A. White,
and W. H. Bason from Hawfields reported that the committee had
decided upon Dr. Mebane as a suitable minister for the field and
that all of the other churches in the group had already made out
calls for him. Hawfields then made out a unanimous call for the
services of Mebane for one half of his time at a salary of four hun-
dred dollars per year and a manse to be furnished for him and his
family. R. W. Scott was appointed to prosecute the call before the
adjourned meeting of Orange Presbytery at the meeting of synod
in Statesville.19 This time the congregation was successful, and Dr.
Mebane moved to the new field the first of the year.

Like several of the former ministers, Dr. Mebane had family ties
with many of the people of Hawfields. William Mebane, a brother
of Alexander Mebane, Sr., had settled in the Buffalo community
in Guilford County in pioneer days about the same time that Alex-
ander Mebane had settled and become a prominent citizen in the
Hawfields. Dr. Mebane was the great-grandson of the pioneer set-
tler, William Mebane.

Benjamin Watkins Mebane was born in Greensboro, North Caro-
lina, on May 26, 1850. His father was Dr. David Cummings Meb-
ane, a well-known physician of that city. He graduated from David-
son College in 1875 and received his master's degree in 1884. He
graduated from Union Theological Seminary in 1878 and was or-

THE DAWN OF A NEW CENTURY 187

dained by Orange Presbytery on November 16, 1878. Five days later,
on November 21, he was married to Miss Bettie G. Carter of Gra-
ham, North Carolina.

Before coming to Hawfields, Dr. Mebane had held five pastorates
in Virginia, one in Kentucky, and three in North Carolina. While
he was a pastor at Fredricksburg, Virginia, King College conferred
upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity.20 He had
been pastor of the Mt. Airy and Danbury group of churches since
1903 when he received the call to the Hawfields group in 1906.
Dr. Mebane came to Hawfields at the age of fifty-seven, bringing
a wide and varied experience to the new field. The Mebanes had
two children, Carter Mebane, who was a doctor in Mt. Airy, North
Carolina, and a daughter, Alice, who was married to Dr. C. A.
Baird a short time after the Mebanes moved to Hawfields. Their
wedding attracted unusual interest because it was the first wedding
ever performed in the church building, and it set the pattern for
many that were to follow.21 The Mebanes lived at the home of
R. W. Scott until the new manse was built.

At a meeting of the officers of the four churches it was agreed
"that Dr. Mebane should preach at Hawfields on the first and
third Sabbaths of each month, and at Bethlehem on the second and
at Saxapahaw on the fourth Sabbath of each month and at Bethany
every first and third Sabbath of each month in the evening."22

The immediate problem facing the congregation after Dr.
Mebane's arrival was to provide him with a manse. A congrega-
tional meeting was held on December 4, 1906; and Stephen A.
White, Alexander Patton, A. V. Craig, and Thomas C. Johnston,
who held the title to the manse in Mebane for the congregation,
were instructed in consultation with the officers of Cross Roads to
sell this property.23 The question then came up as to who the proper
persons to hold church property should be; consequently, at the
same meeting the congregation elected John W. Bason, W. H.
Bason, John M. Baker, and William J. Gibson the first church
trustees. The committee appointed to sell the property in Mebane
reported on January 6, 1907, that the property had been sold to
S. G. Morgan for thirty-five hundred dollars and that the money
had been divided between the Hawfields and Cross Roads congre-
gations.

i88

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

The congregation then purchased a tract of about thirty acres
where the present manse stands. It was a part of the original Robert
White farm, then owned by his daughters, Bettie and Frankie White.
It was an old site with a double log cabin, dating back to pre-war
days, hidden behind a long avenue of large cedar trees leading out
to the road. When the manse was completed, the cedar trees were
cut down and the present maples were planted.

The building committee appointed by the congregation was com-
posed of John W. Bason, R. W. Scott, and the Reverend B. W. Meb-
ane. Since it was to be the home of Dr. Mebane, he planned the in-
terior arrangement and John Turner drew up the specifications and
designed the outward appearance. The community had learned
to work together in building the new school; so, under the direc-
tion of local carpenters, the building was erected by the people of
the community — many of them contributing materials and labor in-
stead of money. When it was completed, it was one of the most
spacious houses in the entire community.

Since three other churches were interested in the manse, a con-
gregational meeting was held on September 20, 1908, to clarify the
interest of each in the new property. It was reported to this meet-
ing that each church had put into the building the following
amounts: Hawfields, $2391.45; Bethlehem, $200.00; Saxapahaw,
$200.00; and Bethany, $50.00.

It was then agreed that the other three churches would pay one
half of the incidentals towards the upkeep of the property and that
in the event the field should be divided at some future time, Haw-
fields would pay to each of the other churches the amount they had
originally put into it. At that time they would give Hawfields a
clear title to the property. Hawfields was already looking to the
day when the church would have its own minister. There was a
narrow strip of about five acres of land between the church and
manse property owned by Joseph S. Gibson, who suggested that
he would exchange this land for an equal amount on the back side
of the manse property. The exchange was made, and the manse
and church property were brought together into one tract.

Mebane's first task was to set about reorganizing the finances of
the church. Once more an effort was made to find a more effective
approach to the handling of the offerings of the congregation for

THE DAWN OF A NEW CENTURY

benevolent purposes. When the session met on May 3, 1908, the
envelope system of voluntary collections was abolished, and a pledge
card system was adopted. A committee was then appointed to
study the church roll and assign to each member his or her pro rata
share. The congregation was then divided into six districts with an
elder in charge of each district who was to lay upon the hearts of
the people "the necessity of increased liberality."24

The first narrative report of the session to presbytery which was
made out on March 31, 1907, shows that the work with the young
girls of the congregation had been reorganized. (The only work
with the boys of the community had been done by George Oldham
at the school.) The society was now called the "Sunbeams." The
presidents of that organization during Dr. Mebane's pastorate were:
Margaret Scott, 1907; Agnes White, 1908; Esther Covington, 1909;
Mildred White, 1910; and Mattie Gibson, 191 1. In 1912 there was
a change of pastorates, and the narrative report is very meager. No
mention is made of the "Sunbeams."

The most outstanding community event during Dr. Mebane's
pastorate took place on August 31, 1907. In recognition of the work
that was being done at the Hawfields school, the "Junior Order of
United American Mechanics" of Trollingwood presented the school
with an American flag and a Bible. Governor R. B. Glenn, who
had been a classmate of Dr. Mebane's at Davidson, was present and
made the address for the occasion at the church. The whole group
then marched to the schoolhouse for the flag-raising ceremony.
Holt Dixon, one of the Hawfields boys, led the procession carrying
the flag.25 This was the second time within five years that the
community had been honored by a visit from the governor of the
state. These visits, of course, were a tremendous inspiration to the
new spirit which had come to the community.

In the spring of 1908, Hawfields' senior elder, Stephen A. White,
died. His father and grandfather had served as elders in Hawfields
Church. No other family so far had given a succession of three
generations to the eldership. For nearly fifty years he was the post-
master at Mebanesville (which grew into Mebane). He was elected
state senator from the Eighteenth District in 1897, and for many
years he was the clerk of the session at Hawfields Church. Al-
though a church had been built in Mebane, the White family and

190 CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

a few others still held their connections with the home church.
These connections account for the Mebane branch of the Ladies'
Missionary Society of Hawfields. They were a small group, but
they remained loyal to the old church and kept their organization
going as long as they were possibly able to do so.

On August 6, 191 1, Mebane formally offered his resignation,
stating that "the largeness of the field, the severity of the winters
and his own physical inability" made it impossible for him to do
the work in such an extensive field as effectively as in his heart he
felt it should be done.26

He had been a real pastor to his people as well as a great preach-
er, and in the eyes of the community he had more than justified
the steps which they had taken to have a minister living in their
midst. He made himself one with the people in their aims and
aspirations. In his personal conversations with individuals, he had
opened a new vision of what they could make of their community.
It was a tribute to their love and affection for him that when he
offered his resignation they refused to accept it, and each of the
churches appointed a committee that attempted to work out some
sort of arrangement with him by which they could relieve him of
much of his work during the winter months. It was a large field
to cover with a horse and buggy, and the strain was beginning to
tell on his health. There was a certain restlessness about him, too,
that made it seemingly impossible for him to stay long in any one
place. He had, in fact, been with these congregations as long as
he had ever stayed in one place.

At his insistence, his resignation was accepted, and he moved to
a church in Eatonton, Georgia, thinking that a warmer climate
would be helpful to him. During his stay in Eatonton he was a
constant sufferer, and it was only by great effort and determination
that he was able to continue his work. In the summer of 1914 he
was compelled to give up his active work and the Mebanes re-
turned to Mt. Airy, North Carolina, where he had once been a
pastor and where his son lived. Dr. Mebane died there on January
29, 1915.27

The Reverend J. W. Goodman, '9/2-/9/7
When Benjamin Mebane resigned on September 3, 191 1, the
officers of Hawfields must have known that the Reverend J. W.

THE DAWN OF A NEW CENTURY 191

Goodman of Buffalo wanted to come to Hawfields. No mention
is made in the minutes of a committee's having been appointed to
secure a new minister. But on October 22, a congregational meet-
ing was called for October 29, when a unanimous call was made
out for J. W. Goodman at a salary of $400 a year for one half of
his time. This was $175 less than he was getting at Buffalo for
the same amount of time.28 The elders and deacons were instructed
to sign the call on behalf of the congregation. Goodman accepted
and began work in his new field on the first of January. After
his acceptance he often said that he had always wanted to come
to Hawfields.

James William Goodman was born in Rowan County, near
China Grove on December 26, 1867, and he was brought up in the
historic Thyatira Church in which his father was a ruling elder.
He was graduated with honors from Davidson College in 1895
and taught school for one year before entering Union Theological
Seminary. He was graduated in 1898 and was ordained by Orange
Presbytery on September 29 of the same year. Installed at that
time as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of High Point,
North Carolina, he served there until 1900. From 1901 to 1905 he
was pastor of the Hillsboro, Fairfield, and Eno group of churches
and Stated Supply at New Hope. In 1905 he went to the Buffalo,
Bessemer Avenue, and Midway group of churches which he served
until he received the call to the Hawfields group in 191 1. Good-
man married Miss Nettie Matton of High Point on January 16,
1901. Their only child was a daughter named Grace.29

Under Mr. and Mrs. Goodman's leadership both church and
community continued to move forward. Mrs. Goodman reorgan-
ized the women's organization, and it now became the "Woman's
Auxiliary" and held monthly meetings at the church. The young
people's work was reorganized also. Ever since Dr. Chester's day
there had been some sort of society for the young girls; now, as
spokesman for the boys, Kerr Scott asked that boys also be in-
cluded in the organization. His request led to the organization of
the "Christian Endeavor," and when the session made its annual
report in 1913, it reported a young people's organization with fifty-
six members. The young people who served as president of the
Christian Endeavor until it was reorganized again during Mr.

I92

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Fleming's pastorate were : Kerr Scott, Walter Mann, Ernest Turner,
Charlie Gibson, Ed and Dave McPherson, Herbert and Anice Thorn-
ton, Mildred and Mary White, Mona, Esther, and Dewey Coving-
ton, and Mattie Gibson.

The community also continued to move forward. Rural tele-
phones began to be installed about the time Goodman arrived,
and an exchange was installed in the manse. Reception was poor
on rural phones in the early days, so the Goodmans not only had
to make connections but were often called upon to relay messages
from one phone line to another.

The Cemetery Fund

A growing community pride led to a desire to improve the
church grounds, especially the cemetery. R. W. Scott, who had taken
the leadership in so many projects for the betterment of the com-
munity, thought of raising an endowment fund for the upkeep of
the cemetery. The matter was presented to the session on January
10, 1913, and "R. W. Scott was authorized to take steps toward the
organization of an association to be known as the Hawfields Me-
morial Association."30 During that spring and summer Scott can-
vassed the community in his horse and buggy and wrote many
letters to friends of the church. His endeavors were met with a
generous response.

At the November 27 meeting of the session he reported that a
legacy, consisting of some property in Greensboro, had been left to
the cemetery and Sunday school by the Faucette estate. The session
now realized that there were many people whose ancestors were
buried in the old cemetery in Hawfields who would be glad to
do something to preserve and beautify the old burying ground.

On January 22, 1914, the Memorial Association was formed,
and R. W. Scott, E. C. Turner, William Brown, John Baker, and
J. R. White were elected trustees of the association. This organ-
ization still exists and continues to receive gifts for the upkeep of
the cemetery. In recent years the cemetery has been enlarged by the
purchase of two additional tracts on the south side from the E. C.
Turner farm. All of the money from the sale of lots and from gifts
is added to the endowment fund.

THE DAWN OF A NEW CENTURY

193

Agricultural Demonstration Wor\
In the changing times, Hawfields had taken the lead in Ala-
mance County in the statewide movement for farm improvement.
Walter Hines Page, in his famous address "The Forgotten Man,"
had pleaded for state and local taxation to support the public school
system,31 but the South was poor and no matter how much the
people might have desired a new school program, taxable resources
were not sufficient to support it. This had been the reason for the
opposition to a tax levy in the Hawfields district in 1896 and for
the action of the Alamance County commissioners on August 3,
1903: "Ordered: That the tax levy for Graded School in Hawfields
district be reduced to 30c on the $100 valuation of real and per-
sonal property and 90c on each Poll."32 Page saw that the solution
to the problem lay in doing something to improve the South's eco-
nomic position. North Carolina was still largely a rural state; there-
fore the specific task was to improve the agricultural situation.
Agricultural colleges had been founded in most of the southern
states since the war, and North Carolina had founded the Agri-
cultural and Mechanical College at Raleigh in 1887. Through these
and other means much valuable information had been made avail-
able to the farmer.

To bring information to the farmers had been the major empha-
sis in the program of the Farmers' Alliance. This organization
sought to create interest by sponsoring "Farmers' Institutes" through-
out the state. One of the most popular speakers at these Institutes
was again Scott, who traveled extensively throughout the state year
by year. His theme, and he spoke from personal experience, was
always the same: "How to improve a poor farm and make it
profitable."33 The difficulty with this program lay in persuading
farmers to apply the new farming methods.

It was at this point that Walter Hines Page discovered Seaman
A. Knapp and brought him to North Carolina. Knapp had a new
approach to the farm problem. He selected a particular farmer in
a community and persuaded him to work his fields according to
the best methods worked out for farm improvement and increased
productivity. His theory was that a practical example of growing
prosperity in a community would persuade others to follow the

i94

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

example. So the Agricultural Demonstration Work program, which
was to revolutionize rural life in the South, came into being.

In 191 1, Scott was responsible for gathering a group of ten in-
terested farmers, representing every section of the county, to meet
in Graham; this group persuaded the county commissioners to
appropriate funds to match funds available from the state to begin
Farm Demonstration Work in Alamance County. Three of these
men, R. W. Scott, E. C. Turner, and }. P. Kerr, were elders in
Hawfields Church. The funds were made available and E. C.
Turner was appointed the first county agent for Alamance County.

E. C. Turner drove all over Alamance County in a horse and
buggy to select farmers in various communities who were willing
to experiment with new methods. These farmers were asked to
choose parts of each field to plant in the old way and to cultivate
beside them areas worked by new and improved methods. Farmers
were taught how to terrace their fields to prevent erosion, how to
reactivate fields that had gone to gullys, and how to use better
methods of crop rotation. The demonstrations were always as prac-
tical in nature as possible. The next year Turner also organized
clubs for the boys and girls on the farms in which each member
undertook some helpful project. Three clubs were organized that
first year; Margaret Scott was the leader of the one in Hawfields.
These were the forerunners of the agricultural clubs that today
are a part of the educational program of every rural school in the
South.

The work grew in popularity, and in 1915 two agents were
employed and the county divided between them. J. P. Kerr, also
an elder in the Hawfields Church, was chosen as the second agent
and assigned the territory north of the railroad. Turner resigned
in 1917 and Kerr covered the entire county until his resignation
in 1920.

These early agents traveled by horse and buggy the entire time
they were in office. They left home on Monday morning and re-
turned on Saturday, spending the entire week making farm visits
and holding community meetings.34 With only two exceptions, all
of the county agents in Alamance have come from the Hawfields
community. J. P. Kerr was succeeded by Kerr Scott, a recent grad-
uate from the Agricultural and Mechanical College in Raleigh, who

THE DAWN OF A NEW CENTURY

i95

served as county agent from 1920 to 1931. He was succeeded by
N. C. Shiver of Clemson, South Carolina, who was agent until
1936. In 1936, Jere Bason, who was also a Hawfields boy, was
appointed county agent and served until his retirement in 1957.

It was largely the work of these men that revolutionized agri-
culture in Alamance County and made Hawfields one of the most
prosperous agricultural sections of the county. One phase of the
work of the early agents was the development of community fairs.
The young people, especially, took a keen interest in the fairs, for
they competed with each other for prizes when the fairs were held
at the end of every summer. Enthusiasm spread through the whole
family, and family booths at the Hawfields community fair became
the accepted procedure.

It was the growth of the Hawfields community fair that led to
the organization of the Mebane county fair. This fair was a non-
profit organization that grew until it became a six-county fair and
ranked as one of the outstanding agricultural fairs in the state.
After his resignation as county agent, E. C. Turner became the
general superintendent of the Mebane fair, and at the close of each
fair he began touring the county to lay plans for the next year.
Hawfields was still a strictly rural community, but it had reached
the peak of its prosperity and was one of the most forward-looking,
aggressive farming communities in the state.

With these community activities the work of the church did not
lag behind. In fact, school, community, and church activities were
never thought of as separate activities. During these years, J. W.
Goodman, traveling in his buggy with a top, pulled by a black horse,
was a familiar sight along the country roads as he visited among his
people, sharing in their activities. When his buggy and harness
began to wear out, there was a question as to whether he should
buy new equipment or invest about four hundred dollars more to
buy an automobile. It was an age of progress and so Mr. Good-
man bought a Ford sedan, the only car in the congregation at that
time.35

It was during Goodman's pastorate that the Communion Service
in use at the present time was purchased. Mrs. W. H. Bason, Mrs.
Jerome Coble, and Mrs. John Foust were the leaders of the Auxil-
iary circle that raised the money. During Anderson Hughes's pas-

196

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

torate the congregation had used a porcelain service that was re-
placed during C. N. Morrow's pastorate by a silver goblet set sim-
ilar to those found in most Presbyterian churches of that day. The
money for the silver set was raised by Mrs. James Ira White, Mrs.
M. G. Scott, and Mrs. Julia Patton. This set and one of the porcelain
goblets are now in the safe at the church.

On October 15, 1916, J. R. White was authorized by the session
to confer with Mr. Charles Ellis about the purchase of a new organ
for the church. About the same time Mrs. R. W. Scott raised the
money to buy a piano for the church and the Hawfields school.
For a number of years this piano was used both in the church and
the schoolhouse.

Like Dr. Mebane, J. W. Goodman had never remained very
long in any one pastorate; and on March n, 1917, he offered his
resignation and the congregation reluctantly accepted it. His stay
at Hawfields had been a rich pastorate, during one of the most
prosperous and happy periods in the history of the church. At the
congregational meeting in which his resignation was accepted, R. W.
Scott, J. T. Dick, J. S. Gibson, J. M. Baker, J. P. Kerr, J. R. White,
and W. H. Bason were appointed as a committee to secure a new
minister for the church.

Goodman accepted a call to the Antioch Church, an old historic
rural congregation in Fayetteville Presbytery, which he served until
his death. Stricken with influenza on February 9, while attending
the Billy Sunday meeting in Charlotte, he developed pneumonia and
died on February 13. The funeral service was conducted at Thyatira,
his old home church, on February 14, 1924.

The memorial adopted in his memory by his presbytery paid him
the following tribute : "He was a man of genuine piety and deep con-
secration. It may truly be said of him that he was an example
of the believer in word, conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith,
in purity. ... He was a good organizer, a sound, scriptural preacher,
and a most sympathetic and tender pastor. He was also an excellent
Presbyter."36

The Reverend Jonas Barclay, 191J-1920

The committee appointed to secure a successor to J. W. Good-
man was fortunate in being able to make its report in a few weeks,

Hawfields Presbyterian Manse, Completed October, 1956

Original Manse, Purchased in 1884

Session House

Home Coming, July, 1962: a number of those who attended school at the session house. Left to
right: Fleta Evans McAdams, Carrie Albright, Myrtle Kirkpatrick Lynch, Dr. Herbert Turner, Mrs.
James Covington, McCoy Patton, Minnie Gibson Tyson, Lula Albright, Sally Albright Cheek,
Hattie Evans Idol, T. D. Dupey (teacher, 1 898-1 899).

THE DAWN OF A NEW CENTURY 197

and on April 22, 1917, a call was made out for the Reverend Jonas
Barclay, at a salary of five hundred dollars for one half of his time
and the free use of the manse. As much as the community felt the
loss of Mr. Goodman, they were ready to receive their new minister
with open arms. Mrs. J. P. Kerr, William Bason, E. C. Turner,
James T. Dick, and J. R. White were appointed by the congrega-
tion as a reception committee for the new minister. As far as the
minutes show, this was the first time such cordial welcome had
ever been extended to a new minister. As a further gesture, Miss
Mamie Scott, Miss Jenny White, and Mr. James Covington were
appointed as a committee to plant a garden at the manse in order
to have things growing when Mr. Barclay arrived. Mr. and Mrs.
Barclay and their five children, Tom, Julia, Laura, Edna, and Frank,
arrived at the manse in June to begin their work of three short,
though happy and fruitful, years in the Hawfields group of
churches.

Jonas Barclay was born in Pewee Valley, Kentucky, on January
28, 1865. He was the son of the Reverend Thomas P. and Louisa
Rhorer Barclay. Before entering college the young man was en-
gaged in business in Louisville, Kentucky. For one year he was
secretary of the YMCA in Steubenville, Kentucky. On leaving
there he entered Collegiate Institute in Princeton, Kentucky, and
after one year of study he enrolled in Centre College and did his
theological work at the old Danville Theological Seminary, from
which he graduated in 1891. On October 31, 1891, he married Edna
Pegram of Stanley, North Carolina. Jonas Barclay was licensed by
Transylvania Presbytery and ordained by Mecklenburg Presbytery
in May, 1891.

He brought to his new field a wide and varied experience, hav-
ing served as pastor, evangelist, and superintendent of Home Mis-
sions in the synods of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Geor-
gia.S7

When Barclay arrived on the field, the churches presented him
with a horse and a new buggy and harness. One half of the cost
of this was to be paid by the Hawfields congregation. At the same
meeting of the session the matter of providing suitable sheds for
the horses of those who attended the church was taken up. At a
congregational meeting called to consider this matter, it was de-

i98

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

cided to build sheds, and the motion specified that "Sheds [are] to
be entirely free to all those attending divine worship and none of
them to be for use of any particular family ."38 Actually, however,
the sheds were never built. It seems rather strange after all these
years, and on the eve of the automobile revolution, that the church
should become concerned about the comfort of the horses; but it
is significant because their action reflected the spirit and outlook
that had by now become a part of the new Hawfields since the
turn of the century.

In the spring of 1918 the Christian Endeavor Society was given
permission to take over the care of the church and grounds instead
of the church's employing a sexton to do this work. It was every-
one's opinion that this action would not only increase the interest
of the young people in their church but also help the organization
financially. The Auxiliary also took another step forward and, under
the leadership of Mrs. Barclay, they adopted the circle plan.

Jonas Barclay's pastorate covered the period of America's par-
ticipation in World War I, but the minutes of the session make no
mention of the war. A list of those who served in the armed forces
is given in the Appendix. The community suffered only one cas-
ualty as a result of the war. Edwin Scott, the son of Mr. and Mrs.
R. W. Scott, died in the flu epidemic that took the lives of so many
of the young men of the United States.

One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary

In April of 1920 the session issued an invitation to Orange Pres-
bytery to hold its one hundred and fiftieth anniversary at Hawfields
on September 5, the day of the month on which the presbytery had
been organized. On May 2, 1920, the session appointed R. C. White,
J. S. Gibson, and W. Kerr Scott to do the painting and make the
necessary repairs on the church in preparation for this meeting of
presbytery. At the same meeting of the session the members voted
to increase the pastor's salary to $750 a year.

On July 4, 1920, Mr. Barclay announced his resignation, but in
order that he might be present at the coming meeting of presbytery,
he agreed that it would not take effect until September 15. The
session expressed its appreciation of Barclay's willingness to stay

THE DAWN OF A NEW CENTURY 199

until after the meeting of presbytery and reluctantly agreed to call
a congregational meeting to act on the resignation.

September 5 fell on a Sunday in 1920, and the day was given
over to the anniversary celebration. There was a large attendance
of friends and visitors who filled the church to overflowing. The
presbyteries that had been formed out of the original Orange Pres-
bytery all sent official representatives to bring greetings from the
daughter presbyteries. Two of the former pastors, the Reverend
G. A. Wilson and the Reverend }. W. Goodman, were present and
each took part in the service. The morning address at eleven o'clock
was made by the Reverend D. I. Craig, who preached a historical
sermon from the text, "Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God
hath shined" (Psalm 50:2). Dr. Craig had many close family ties
in Hawfields and was an authority on Presbyterian history in North
Carolina.

After lunch, which was served on the grounds, the afternoon
address was made by the Reverend H. G. Hill of Fayetteville Pres-
bytery, on "A Progressive Presbytery." Dr. Hill was also an au-
thority on North Carolina Presbyterianism. Following Dr. HilPs
address, the official representatives brought greetings from the other
presbyteries of the synod. Dr. Craig's address had made such a
deep impression on the presbytery that at the close of the day it was
ordered that it be printed in pamphlet form. (If the order was car-
ried out, no copy can be found among the records today).39 It had
been an inspiring day for the Hawfields congregation.

Jonas Barclay moved to Eastman, Georgia, after the meeting
of presbytery and remained there until 1921. He then returned to
North Carolina and accepted the pastorate at Pittsboro, where he
served until he retired in 1941.

After retiring from the active ministry, he moved to Charlotte,
where he spent years perhaps less formal and organized but as
busy and productive as ever. During this period he supplied one
or more Sundays in eighty-six churches in the Charlotte area. Only
a serious illness in 1954 made it necessary for him to give up preach-
ing. Mr. Barclay died on January 15, i960, and the funeral service
was conducted the next afternoon in the St. Paul's Presbyterian
Church in Charlotte by the minister of the church, the Reverend

200

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

William M. Boyce, Jr., and by Dr. W. M. Walsh. His body was
laid to rest in the cemetery at Stanley, North Carolina.40

The Reverend M. E. Hansel, 7927-/925

Jonas Barclay moved to his new field on September 15, and at
the meeting of the session on October 24, 1920, elders R. W. Scott,
E. C. Turner, and J. R. White were appointed to take steps to
secure a new minister. The next meeting of the session, which
is undated, recorded that the congregation had called M. E. Han-
sel of Dublin, Virginia, at a salary of nine hundred dollars to be
paid in monthly installments of seventy-five dollars. He was also
to have the use of the manse and farm.41 This was, of course,
Hawfields' half of the total salary that Mr. Hansel was to receive.
He accepted the call and was present at the March 22, 1921 meeting
of the session in which it was decided to have his installation in
connection with the Home Coming service on the first Sunday in
June.

Matthew Ernest Hansel was born in Highland County, Virginia,
on June 9, 1873. Highland is one of the rich cattle grazing coun-
ties in Virginia., and his early training on the farm equipped him
for the life of a rural minister. He was a graduate of Washington
and Lee University and Union Theological Seminary in Virginia.
He was ordained as an evangelist by Lexington Presbytery of the
Synod of Virginia in September, 1901, and one year later he married
Elizabeth Jane Jones, also of Highland County, Virginia.

Before coming to Hawfields, M. E. Hansel held three pastorates
in West Virginia and two in Virginia.42 He moved to Hawfields
in May, 1921, and Mrs. Hansel and their eight children, Margaret,
Cary, Elizabeth, Ernest, Harrison, Virginia (Gene), Holmes, and
Elva came later in the spring after their school had closed.

The four and a half years which Mr. Hansel spent at Hawfields
were marked by a shifting of emphasis in community activities
from the Hawfields school to the church itself. The nearness of
the school building to the church and the fact that practically all
of the pupils and patrons were members of the Hawfields com-
munity had made the school building the natural center for com-
munity activities. But the rapid progress that North Carolina
was making in public school development and the growing empha-

THE DAWN OF A NEW CENTURY

201

sis on consolidated schools made it inevitable that the Hawfields
school would be merged into one of the new consolidated schools.
The site selected for this new school was close to that of the old
Alexander Wilson classical school of pre-war days. It was named
The Alexander Wilson High School in memory of the service that
he had once rendered to the community. It began as a consolidated
high school for the Eureka, Bethany, Swepsonville, Woodlawn, and
Hawfields school districts. Later its facilities were enlarged, and
all of the lower grades of the Hawfields school were moved to the
Alexander Wilson school. The new building, containing an audi-
torium and nine class rooms, was erected in 1922 and was opened
for use in the spring semester of 1923. Now, after thirty-six years
of service to the young people of the community, plans are in the
making for a still further consolidation at a new site. During
these years the staff of teachers has grown from nine in 1923 to
forty-six in 1959, and a number of new class rooms have been
added.43 With the consolidation in 1923 the school, although it was
still on the edge of the Hawfields community, ceased to be a purely
community school. The community spirit that had been built up
around the old Hawfields school shifted then to the church.

The church, too, was moving in its program to meet the de-
mands of a new day. The first mention of an every-member can-
vass was made in the session minutes of March 17, 1922, and mem-
bers were asked to make their pledges in the proportion of two
dollars to be spent for current expenses and one dollar to be spent
for benevolent purposes. The same meeting reported that the Sun-
day school had been reorganized and a cradle roll and home de-
partment added. Mrs. Hansel was largely responsible for organiz-
ing these departments, and two years later the Sunday school en-
rollment had grown from 150 to 256 members. The Christian En-
deavor also reported thirty-five members that year. The only phase
of the church's work that was slow in growing was the Women's
Auxiliary. In 1924 the Auxiliary reported only twenty-four mem-
bers. The greatest problem here was one of transportation to the
meetingb.

The Memorial Tablets
The most unusual series of events connected with Mr. Hansel's
pastorate concerned the contributions that the White family of

202

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Mebane made to the church. When the session met on September
14, 1921, J. R. White read a letter from W. E. White of Mebane,
dated August 9, 1921, in which the White family, in memory of
their father, Stephen A. White, offered to erect suitable recognition
tablets for the ministers who had organized Orange Presbytery in
the original Hawfields Church and to the ministers who had served
the church through the years. They also proposed to erect a suit-
able monument to the faithful slaves buried in the part of the ceme-
tery set aside for them and to give the cemetery fund two hundred
dollars for the upkeep of the family plot. The offer also included
a trust fund of two thousand dollars, in memory of their mother,
to be known as the "Mary Jane White Fund." One half of the in-
terest from this fund was to go to the pastor's salary and the other
half to the Home Mission work of Orange Presbytery.44

These bronze tablets were prepared and put in place on the
wall behind the pulpit and dedicated at the Home Coming service
on June 4, 1922, where a very large crowd was in attendance. The
sermon at the morning service was preached by the Reverend
Herbert S. Turner, a son of the church, who also assisted in the
communion service which followed. After dinner on the grounds,
a custom which had become a part of these Home Coming services,
the church was packed for the service of dedication of the tablets.
The address of presentation was made by J. S. White, one of the
sons of Stephen A. White. The founders' tablet was unveiled by
Stephen Alexander White, the fifth, a grandson of Stephen A. White,
and the tablet in memory of the former ministers was unveiled by
Mary Watkins Baird, a granddaughter of the former pastor B. W.
Mebane. This part of the service was followed by an address on
"Our Debt to the Ministry," by the Reverend D. I. Craig, a life-
long friend of the Hawfields Church.

At three o'clock the large congregation moved to the cemetery
across the road for the unveiling of the tablet to the memory of the
faithful slaves. The service in the cemetery began with the singing
of a number of songs by a Negro choir composed partly of children
and grandchildren of slaves buried in the cemetery. R. W. Scott
then read a paper, "Slavery in Hawfields," which had been written
by Stephen A. White in 1887. Unfortunately, that paper has now
been lost. The tablet to the memory of the slaves was unveiled by

THE DAWN OF A NEW CENTURY

203

James Scott Albright, a grandson of John White, who for many
years was the faithful sexton of the church. The address was made
by the Reverend Byrd R. Smith, pastor of St. James Negro Church
in Greensboro. His topic was "Our Future," and he urged upon
everyone present the necessity for both races to co-operate in an
effort to make North Carolina, already a great state, a greater
commonwealth. The inscriptions on the three tablets read:

TABLET TO FOUNDERS

Erected to the Glory of God and in memory of Rev. Henry
Patillo, First Pastor of Hawfields Church, and his associates, who
organized the Presbytery of Orange, September 5, 1770, in this
Church.

Rev. Henry Patillo, Moderator

Rev. David Caldwell, Stated Clerk

Rev. Hugh McAden

Rev. Joseph Alexander

Rev. James Criswell

Rev. Hezekiah Balch

Rev. Hezekiah James Balch

"The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance."
Psalm CXII, 6.

TABLET TO HAWFIELDS PASTORS

Erected to the Glory of God and in honor of the Pastors who
have served Hawfields Presbyterian Church.

Unknown Missionaries
Henry Patillo
John DeBow
Jacob Lake
William Hodges
William D. Paisley

1755-1765
1765-1774
1777-1784
1784-1792
1793-1800
1801-1818
1819-1842
1843-1873
1874-1882
1884-1889
1 890- 1 891

Ezekiel B. Currie
Anderson G. Hughes
Calvin N. Morrow
Samuel H. Chester
Goodridge A. Wilson

204

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

R. W. Culbertson
Benjamin W. Mebane
James W. Goodman
Jonas Barclay
M. Ernest Hansel

1892-1906
1906-1911
1912-1917
1917-1920
1921-

"Let the Elders that rule well be counted worthy of double
honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine."

I Timothy, V, 17.

TABLET TO SLAVES

In Memory of
The Faithful slaves
Many of whom were members of
Hawfields Presbyterian Church
and are buried in this cemetery

"Be thou faithful unto death and I

will give thee a crown of life." Rev. 2:10

This tablet is presented by the family of Stephen Alexander White
and dedicated by the Hawfields Presbyterian Church.

An account of the day's program appeared in the Greensboro
Daily News the next morning with the headline "Hawfields Re-
members its workers of more than a Century Ago." This article
spoke of the cemetery "as probably one of the most interesting in
the State," and mentioned a number of the famous people who were
buried there and discussed some of their achievements. It con-
cluded by observing that the graves of the slaves received the same
care and attention as the resting place of their masters and ended
with the statement that the motto on this monument had "been
the guiding spirit of the community for all, those of high and of
low estates."45

When the session met on September 30, 1923, it was reported
that the White family had offered ten thousand dollars to be used
for the erection of a young people's building on condition that the

1908-1922

THE DAWN OF A NEW CENTURY

205

church would raise an additional twenty-five hundred dollars to
redecorate the church auditorium and make needed repairs. This
offer was unanimously accepted and R. W. Scott was appointed
to raise the additional sum in the community. He set out with his
horse and buggy, as he had done once before on behalf of the
cemetery fund. When the session met on November 19, less than
three weeks later, he reported that "he had had a hearty response
and had raised by subscription $2500 dollars," thus assuring the
generous offer made by the White family.

The renewed interest in the church and its past which had been
created by what the White family had done led to a feeling on the
part of the officers that something should be done to preserve and
mark the site of the original church, where Orange Presbytery had
been organized. The matter was taken up with the presbytery, and
at a meeting held in Graham on October 11, 1923, a committee
"consisting of Mr. Robert W. Scott Chairman and Rev. M. E.
Hansel, pastor of Hawfields congregation, Mr. Sheppard Strudwick
of Hillsboro, Mr. Wm. E. White of Mebane, and Mr. J. Harvey
White of Graham, and Mr. E. P. Wharton of Greensboro and Dr.
D. I. Craig of Reidsville was appointed to secure the parcel of
ground desired, to solicit the necessary funds required, and to
carry out the wishes of the congregation and the Presbytery of
Orange."46 Oscar Wilson, who owned the farm on which the old
site and cemetery were located, agreed to sell the site for fifty dol-
lars, and on January 18, 1942, H. A. Scott drove Mr. and Mrs.
Wilson to Hillsboro in his Model T Ford to sign the deed.47

The interest which the White family was taking in the church
inspired others to make some recognition of their debt to the Haw-
fields Church. The session minutes of February 1, 1925, record
that Dr. Walter E. Walker of Burlington presented to the church
a pulpit Bible in memory of his aunts, Misses Kate and Elizabeth
Bason.48 Dr. Walker's mother, Miss Ida Bason, was the first organ-
ist, and her sisters Misses Kate and Lizzie had been lifelong mem-
bers of Hawfields Church. That pulpit Bible mentioned in the
minutes is the one now in use in the church services.

In recognition of the growing interest in the Hawfields Church,
Orange Presbytery elected Hansel as a commissioner to the General
Assembly in the spring of 1925. In the midst of these movements,

206

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

the minister received a call to the Second Presbyterian Church in
Concord, North Carolina; and at a congregational meeting held
on July 19, 1925, he offered his resignation, which would take effect
on August 30.

After leaving Hawfields, Mr. Hansel served the Concord church
from 1925 to 1930 and the Old Fort group of churches from 1930
to 1935; he was Home Missionary for Concord Presbytery at the
Clinchfield group of churches from 1935 to 1940. After retiring in
1940, he spent two years in Marion, North Carolina, and in 1942
he moved to Washington, D.C. He died on October 3, 1944, as
die result of an automobile accident.49

The Sunday School Building

In spite of the interruption caused by the resignation of Hansel,
plans for the new building went ahead. Mr. Harry Barton of
Greensboro was selected as the architect, and the present addition
to the rear of the auditorium was completed at a cost of $6,635,
and the cost of renovating the auditorium was $i,8oo.50 In the
auditorium die walls were refinished, die woodwork painted, the
floors sanded, and die pews were reworked to make them more
comfortable. The footstools and cuspidors that had been there ever
since the church was built were removed. The windows were
weathers tripped, and die famous rattling of the windows on stormy,
windy days in winter was now corrected. On the outside of the
building the bricks were repenciled, the shutters repaired and
painted, and the outside entrance to the gallery, which had been
cut as an entrance for die slaves when the church was built, was
closed. The church and manse were wired for electricity, and a
private electric plant was installed.

After Mr. Hansel's resignation, die session secured die Reverend
}. S. Garner, dien pastor of die Mebane Church to preach at Haw-
fields two Sunday afternoons a month, and he stayed with them
until die new pastor came. On February 14, 1926, the session ap-
pointed E. C. Turner chairman of a committee to secure a new
pastor, but no mention is made of die odier members of the com-
mittee. At die meeting of the session of April 4, Hawfields decided
to invite presbytery to hold its fall meeting diere to dedicate the
new building. On June 20, 1926, die congregadon made out a call

THE DAWN OF A NEW CENTURY 207

for the Reverend N. N. Fleming, Jr., but on July 4, E. C. Turner
reported that he had received a letter from Mr. Fleming declining
the call. It is strange that the minutes of the session make no
further mention of Fleming until the November meeting of the
session when his name occurs as moderator of the meeting. The
committee, though, must have been convinced that Fleming was
the man for the new era the church was entering upon and re-
fused to take no for an answer. The result was that he finally re-
considered the call and was received into the presbytery when it
met to dedicate the Sunday school building.

In the meantime plans went ahead for the meeting of presbytery
and for the dedication of the Sunday school building. An added
feature of this meeting of presbytery was to be the presentation of
two historical markers. When the session met on October 3, "com-
mittees were appointed to arrange for the comfort of Presbytery."
R. W. Scott was appointed to present the presbytery a gavel made
from wood taken from the site of the original church building,
and C. P. Coble was asked to present a similar one to the synod.
W. Kerr Scott was appointed to receive the Sunday school building
to be presented by the White family, and at that meeting the ses-
sion passed a resolution of thanks to Mr. Garner for his help dur-
ing the period the church had been without a pastor.

The Dedicatory Service

October 28, 1926, was another outstanding day in the history
of Hawfields Church. On that day Orange Presbytery joined with
the congregation and the many visitors and friends for the dedica-
tion of the Sunday school addition to the church. Mr. Garner, who
had been such a help during the past year was asked to preside,
and after the devotional service he introduced E. S. (Ned) Parker,
an outstanding lawyer from Greensboro, who had been chosen by
the White family to present the building as a memorial to Stephen
Alexander White, who had served the Hawfields Church as an
elder for twenty-four years. Mr. Parker made a moving address
in which he paid tribute to the Christian character and service of
Stephen White. He concluded by saying that the building was
dedicated "to be perpetually used for training youth to walk the
path laid out and traveled by Stephen A. White — the path diat

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CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

leads to the building and completion of the greatest temple that
can be erected on earth, Christian Character."51

Parker's address was followed by W. Kerr Scott's message of
acceptance. He began by saying, "Nothing is more touching than to
receive a gift from a friend or neighbor, especially when this gift
comes unexpectedly." In the closing paragraphs of his message he
struck the keynote of what had come to be the outlook and vision
for the future of the Hawfields Church and community when he
said that the congregation was already looking forward to the time
when it would support its own pastor and that the building had
"aroused community spirit and given new vision." He spoke of
the Whites as "our friends, our neighbors and our kinsmen" and
expressed "the gratitude of our community for a gift that will
bless us through the ages."52

After this, the Reverend S. M. Rankin, the moderator of the
presbytery, introduced Dr. W. T. Whitsett, who made a splendid
historical address. Then R. A. McQueen brought greetings from the
synod and from Fayetteville Presbytery, W. F. Carter brought greet-
ings from Winston-Salem Presbytery, and the former pastor R. W.
Culbertson brought greetings from Mecklenburg Presbytery.

In the afternoon the presbytery assembled in the cemetery, where
Banks H. Mebane presented a monument to the presbytery on
behalf of Mrs. Lily Morehead Mebane and her late husband, B.
Frank Mebane, marking the site of the second church building in
the southeast corner of the present cemetery. This monument is
a tall granite shaft on which two inscribed bronze tablets are
mounted. On the north side:

Erected to commemorate
the organization of
Hawfields Presbyterian Church
in 1755
And the organization of
Orange Presbytery, Sept. 5, 1770
and dedicated to the memory of

Rev. Henry Patillo
First pastor of Hawfields Church
1765-1774

THE DAWN OF A NEW CENTURY

209

and his associates
who organized
The Presbytery of Orange

Rev. Henry Patillo, Moderator

Rev. David Caldwell, Stated Clerk

Rev. Hugh McAden

Rev. James Criswell

Rev. Hezekiah Balch

Rev. Hezekiah James Balch

The original Hawfields Church, a log building
where Orange Presbytery was organized,
was located two miles south of Mebane
and four miles north east from here.

This monument received and dedicated
at a meeting of Orange Presbytery
at Hawfields Church, Oct. 28, 1926.
"The Memory of the righteous is Blessed."
Prov. 10:7

The bronze tablet on the south side of the monument bears the
following inscription:

Presented by
B. Frank Mebane
to

Orange Presbytery
and

Hawfields Church
In loving memory of his father
Doctor

Benjamin Franklin Mebane
a ruling elder of this church
A patriot and a Master of Materia Medica
a beloved and Honored citizen.

At this same meeting a marker bearing the following inscrip-
tion was placed at the site of the original church which had been
recently purchased by Hawfields Church.

210

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Original Site
of

Hawfields Church
and
Cemetery
1755-1926

Before presbytery adjourned the members voted for the Stated
Clerk to "write a note of thanks to Mrs. Lily Morehead Mebane,
expressing our appreciation of the gift of the monument presented
by her today." It had been a full day for the Hawfields congrega-
tion which once more had been made aware of its great heritage
and had received new inspiration for the future.

CHAPTER XI

A COMMUNITY CENTER

1 926- 1 948

The Reverend N. N. Fleming, Jr., 1926-1948

Before the October 28, 1926, meeting of presbytery adjourned,
it acted on the calls from Hawfields and Bethlehem for the pas-
toral services of Neely Fleming and arranged for his installation.
The calls from Hawfields, at a salary of $1,000, and Bethlehem, at
a salary of $425, were approved and placed in Fleming's hands.
The presbytery also recommended that he be permitted to supply
the Saxapahaw Church, his salary to be supplemented by presby-
tery's Home Mission Committee. The schedule for his preaching
services was to be three morning services for Hawfields each month.
Bethlehem was to have one morning and one afternoon service and
Saxapahaw a morning and evening service on the fifth Sunday and
one afternoon and one night service each month — later this was
changed to two night services each month.

The committee to install Fleming had the Reverend J. S. Garner
presiding and propounding the constitutional questions and charg-
ing the congregation; the Reverend J. M. Millard preaching
the sermon; and Elder J. S. White charging the pastor. The time
set for the service was 3:00 p.m. at Hawfields and 7:30 p.m. at
Bethlehem on the fourth Sunday in November.1

Mr. and Mrs. Fleming moved to the manse on November 4,
1926, with their four small children, Mary Rosa, Nathan Neely III,
Jessamine, and Russell. Two children were born to the Flemings
after they moved to Hawfields, Lucy Loman on December 18, 1932,
the first child to be born in the manse, and Willis Krider on De-
cember 23, 1936, who died on February 1, 1940.

Nathan Neely Fleming, Jr., was born on October 7, 1889, the

212

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

oldest son of Nathan Neely Fleming and Mary Rosa Wetmore
Fleming, near Mount Vernon in Rowan County, North Carolina.
He graduated from Davidson College in 1912, standing second
in his class (with an average of 97+). For the next two years
he was principal of the Mount Ulla High School. He then entered
Union Theological Seminary in Richmond and graduated in the
spring of 1917. He was licensed by Concord Presbytery and or-
dained by Albemarle Presbytery in June, 1917. On August 29, 1918,
he married Jessamine Booth of Birmingham, Alabama, a graduate
of the Assembly's Training School.

Before coming to Hawfields, N. N. Fleming was assistant pas-
tor of the Tarboro Presbyterian Church with the additional re-
sponsibility of the large Home Mission work around Tarboro. He
was installed pastor of Pinetops and Falkland and acted as Stated
Supply at Enfield, Nahalah, and Scotland Neck. He served as
pastor of the Winter Park and Delgado Churches at Wilmington
from 1921 to 1924 and pastor at Farmville from 1924 to 1926.2

It was a tribute to the leadership of Neely Fleming that in spite
of the depression years the church took steps towards calling him
as their full-time pastor. On March 4, 1928, the congregation voted
"to increase the Pastor's salary from $1000 to $1200 a year and be-
come self-supporting." On April 15, 1930, Efland was added to
the field to the extent that Fleming was given permission by pres-
bytery to supply there one Sunday afternoon each month. On
April 5, 1931, the congregation voted to call Fleming for all of his
time, leaving him the privilege of preaching at Efland one Sunday
afternoon each month; and J. S. Gibson, W. Kerr Scott, and E. C.
Turner were appointed as a special committee to carry this matter
to presbytery at its next meeting.3 At the meeting of the session
one month later, May 12, E. C. Turner reported that "Presbytery
had granted the request to call Mr. Fleming for all his time." The
rapid growth of every phase of the church's life that followed re-
flected the wisdom of this move.

One of the secrets of Fleming's leadership was his relation to
the officers of the church. Soon after he came to the field he in-
augurated what has come to be known as the "Church Officers'
Meetings." These were monthly business meetings of the elders
and deacons which met in each of the homes of the officers in ro-

Presentation of Portrait of R. W. Scott
December, 1952. Left to right: Senator Ralph H. Scott, Mrs. R. W. Scott, Governor W. Kerr
Scott, Chancellor J. W. Harrelson.

Group of Hawfields Parishioners
January, 1953. Left to right: Brodie Covington, Dewey Covington, Hal Farrell, Colon Farrell,
Dover Isley, Chester Farrell, George Bason, J. W. Farrell, Melvin Hearn, Mrs. W. Kerr Scott.

A COMMUNITY CENTER

213

tation. After the evening meal together, the pastor shared with
these men his hopes and plans for the church, and in this way he
created a group of men who not only knew his program but who
came to share his vision and enthusiasm. The church's program
in this way became not only his but that of the officers and leaders
of the church as well.

Young People's Wor\

Fleming's greatest contribution, during the years he was at
Hawfields, was his work with the young people. In this he and Mrs.
Fleming, in spite of her household duties and responsibilities with
their own children, worked together as a team. The first summer
after the Flemings arrived, the first Daily Vacation Bible School
was held from August 1 through August 12, 1927, with a total en-
rollment of sixty-five children. Miss Creola Hall, who had just
graduated from the Training School, and Miss Ruth Abbott of
Greensboro were secured to help with the program. Miss Ida
Thompson, Miss Nellie Turner, Mrs. C. D. Covington, and Mr.
and Mrs. Fleming together with the two salaried helpers made up
the teaching staff. Ralph Turner and Hughes Scott assisted in the
hand-work for the boys.4 After this first school the Bible school
was carried on without assistance from the outside. Fleming and
others used their cars to help bring the children who lived too far
away to walk to the church. Later, the church owned a bus that was
used to bring the children to these yearly Bible schools. From 1938
through 1949, Miss Nellie Turner acted as superintendent and
planned the work for these schools.

One of the unique features of the Sunday morning services dur-
ing Fleming's ministry was his sermon to the children. Near the
beginning of the service all of the children were asked to come
forward to sit on the front pews. The pastor then came down out
of the pulpit and, with Mrs. Fleming at the piano, led the group
in a song service, using the choruses that they had learned in the
Bible school. The singing was followed by a short message to the
children which was often illustrated on a blackboard or by some
other means. It was all done very effectively in about ten minutes.
Children came to love him because he was their minister also. Often
it was the children's sermon rather than the morning sermon to

214

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

the congregation that families discussed around the dinner table
on that day.

That first year the Flemings were in Hawfields, they reorgan-
ized the Christian Endeavor and adopted the Presbyterian church's
official program, with its Kingdom Highway divisions of worship,
service, instruction, and recreation. Here again it was Neely Flem-
ing's identification with the young people that made the program
so effective in the life of the church. Once a month all of the offi-
cers of the Young People's organization, and their adult adviser,
met at the manse for an evening of fellowship and careful planning
of the Sunday night programs for the following month. Many
who are now leaders in the church received their training in those
early youth meetings.

Each year boys and girls of potential leadership ability were
carefully selected and sent to the presbytery and synod young peo-
ple's conference. Fleming's ability to work with young people, as
well as his thorough knowledge of the Church's program, was recog-
nized throughout the synod; and he served not only on presbytery
and synod committees but regularly acted as one of the counselors
and teachers at these summer conferences. A number of those who
were trained under his leadership at Hawfields later served as
counselors and officers in the presbytery and synod conferences. This
success led to the organization of a young people's conference for
the church itself, in which the pastor took the whole group of his
young people on a camping trip for several days for a conference
patterned after the larger conferences of synod and presbytery. The
minister was one of the leaders in the development of Camp New
Hope, the summer camp site for the young people of Orange Pres-
bytery; and as a memorial to his efforts the assembly building there
is named Fleming Lodge.

Mrs. Fleming's contribution to the young people's work was
with the choir. She organized a junior choir that sang for the
Sunday morning service for the first time on December 22, 1941,
and usually sang after that on the first Sunday morning of each
month. Mrs. Fleming's work with the choir, with the children and
young people as well as with the older group, was her most sig-
nificant contribution to the life of the church.

The community, too, was making progress. In 1928 electricity

A COMMUNITY CENTER

215

came to the community for the first time when Duke Power Com-
pany agreed to run a power line from Mebane as far as the Scott
farm for thirteen hundred dollars. The line was subscribed to by
thirteen families (including the church and manse) who lived
along and near the highway. The current was turned on on April
3 and 4, 1928, and today every home in the community has the use
of electricity.5 With adequate lighting, the manse became the cen-
ter and meeting place for many of the activities of the young peo-
ple of the community. Consequently, on February 16, 1932, the
session approved a plan to enlarge the living room at the manse
by removing the partition between the hall and living room.

A tireless pastor, Fleming made himself at home in the families
of the community and was deeply interested in all of the activities
of his members. The memorial adopted by the Synod of North
Carolina at the time of his death spoke of him as "a loyal and de-
voted pastor" and stated that "none lived too far away to receive
his personal sympathetic oversight and ministry." It praised his
active leadership in the Young People's work in Orange Presbytery
and in the synod and commented that in council meetings, rallies,
conferences, and camps "he was a wise teacher, a sympathetic coun-
selor, a trusted friend and a faithful guide."6

By offering an adequate program for the large and growing
number of young people in the community as well as for the older
groups, the busy pastor made his church the center of community
activities at a time when the tendency was to shift these activities
to the public school. The church also assumed the role of leadership
in the wider activities of the community, including the social and
recreational activities of the Alexander Wilson School, and con-
tinued to hold that place of leadership until the school was finally
merged into a larger consolidation.

The function of the church as Fleming saw it was to give lead-
ership to the total life of the community. When a teacher shortage
developed in the Alexander Wilson School, he found time to fill
in for a time. He took a keen interest in the local Parent-Teachers
Association and at one time served as president of that organization.
The members of his congregation were largely farmers, so he took
an active part in the local Grange organization and served a term
as Master of the local Grange. From 1930 until his death in 1948

2l6

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

he was Chaplain of the State Grange. This remarkable man had
the rare ability to become a part of the community life in such a
way that it became the church's leadership, not his personal leader-
ship, which stood out. In 1948 he was made chairman of the Chris-
tian Rural Overseas Relief program for North Carolina under the
North Carolina Council of Churches.

Gifts and Improvements

A number of significant improvements were made to the church
during Fleming's pastorate. One of the landmarks at Hawfields
is the old session house that was built along with the church in
1852. At various times it had been used as a schoolhouse, and many
of the Hawfields boys and girls had received practically all of their
education at these schools. Nothing had been done to it for years,
and it was badly in need of repair. In 1935 Samuel T. Johnston
and John Henry Gibson, who had been Hawfields boys, completely
renovated and painted the building.

When the church had been first wired for electricity, the beau-
tiful chandelier, with its kerosene lamps, which hung from the
ceiling in the center of the church, was discarded; and the church
was lighted by light bulbs suspended by a cord from the ceiling.
In November, 1940, Miss Agnes White and her sister Dorothy (Mrs.
Irvin Crawford) had the old chandelier and bracket lamps that
hung along the gallery on either side, restored to their original
appearance and wired for electricity. This splended gift brought
back to the church some of the charm and beauty of its early days.
It was a gift in memory of their father and mother and of the
service they had rendered to the church. James R. White had
served as a deacon for thirteen years, as an elder for twenty-nine
years, and as clerk of the session for ten years; Mrs. White had
served as organist for many years.

On July 8, 1941, Ralph Henderson Scott and his wife, Hazelene
Tate Scott, presented the Hammond electric organ to the church
in memory of Mr. Scott's father and mother, Robert W. and Eliz-
abeth Hughes Scott. Later a piano that matches the organ and
chimes were added. To complete the arrangement of the interior
which the organ entailed, Mr. Linwood Albright designed the ar-
rangement for the choir, which was built by his father, Mr. William
Herbert Albright.

A COMMUNITY CENTER 217

In the early years as the reader will recall, the music was led
by the precentor who "lined the hymns," so musical instruments
were slow in being introduced into Presbyterian churches — and
even then they often met much opposition. The first musical in-
strument in the Hawfields Church was a small reed organ that was
a gift from Dr. William (Billy) Bason about 1874, during Calvin
Morrow's pastorate; and Dr. Bason's daughters, Miss Ida and later
Miss Rosa Bason, were the first organists. It was placed in the gal-
lery, which was unsatisfactory because it was too far away from the
congregation. Later the organ was moved to the main floor and
placed on the east side of the center block of pews. One half of
the pew next to the front row was taken out to make room for the
organ, and it remained there until the piano was introduced.

In Hawfields, as in many other congregations, there was a group
who were bitterly opposed to introducing an organ into the church.
This opposition on the part of early Presbyterians to musical in-
struments grew out of a belief that these instruments were a sign
of worldliness, and they felt that their introduction into the church
purported the same mischief as the bringing in of other worldly
practices would.

There is no complete list of the organists at Hawfields, but in
addition to the Misses Bason, Mrs. }. R. White, Miss Berta, and
Miss Sally Albright all served as organists. When Mrs. R. W. Scott
raised the money for the piano for the church and school in 1927,
two of the young girls, Dorothy White and Grace Goodman, played
for the morning service. After the Hawfields School became a
part of the consolidated school at Alexander Wilson a new piano
was purchased for the church.

On Sunday morning, October 5, 1939, after Neely Fleming had
finished his morning sermon, W. Kerr Scott rose from his pew and,
addressing the pastor, said, "Mr. Fleming, I have the happy privilege
of giving a token to you this morning of the love and appreciation
your congregation has for you. In this envelope you will find the
title to a new 1940 Plymouth automobile." He spoke of the way
their pastor constantly used his automobile to carry elders to pres-
bytery, women to the Presbyterial, young people to conferences,
the sick to the hospital, and children to the Bible school and con-
cluded, "We want to say to you that we appreciate all you do for

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

our community, and this morning we want to say so to you with
a new automobile."7

On March 31, 1940, the Rotary Plan for the Board of Deacons
was adopted; and J. W. Baker, who had been made a deacon in
1897, and James C. Covington, who had been made a deacon in
1907, were made life deacons.8

Throughout its long history Hawfields had always been sensitive
to her responsibility to the outlying sections of the community, and
from time to time had started outpost Sunday schools and preach-
ing points. In November, 194 1, a committee from the officers to-
gether with a committee from the Auxiliary started an outpost
Sunday school at the home of Mrs. Shanks Rigan on the Cad
Albright farm. This committee was composed of George Bason,
J. }. Fenton, Jr., W. H. Albright, and C. A. Albright joined by Miss
Hazel Farrell, Mrs. J. W. Farrell, Mrs. Ralph H. Scott, and Mrs.
Dave McPherson from the Auxiliary. The school opened with more
than thirty children in attendance.9

In April, 1941, the congregation voted to assume partial support
of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Shafe, missionaries to Africa. Helping
to support specific missionaries has become a permanent policy of
the church, and since then it has shared in the support of the Rev-
erend R. C. Morrow, the Reverend C. R. Stegall, and the Reverend
Donald E. Williams.

On September 26, 1941, the session appointed W. Kerr Scott,
George S. Bason, and J. J. Fenton, Jr., to a committee on "Soldiers'
Service." A month later this committee reported that the church
had sent packages to the soldiers in service. On January 13, 1942,
the session voted to allow the men's Bible classroom to be used for
registration for the selective draft. On August 14, 1945, the session
made a note that it was meeting on the night the Japanese accepted
the peace offer and recorded that, " a special prayer service is to be
held tomorrow night at the Church and all people, white and
colored are invited to attend this service."

Home Comings
With the coming of automobiles and good roads, "Home Com-
ing" came to be one of the significant events in the life of Haw-
fields. It is held in the spring of the year while the country is still
fresh and green, and there are morning and afternoon services and

A COMMUNITY CENTER

219

dinner on the grounds. Through the years these services have
grown in popularity and each year bring back to the community
many who have moved to other parts of the country. Two of these
events during Fleming's pastorate deserve special mention.

At the Home Coming service on May 18, 1941, the afternoon
service featured a historical program during which C. C. Crittenden,
of the state historical commission, presented the marker that stands
on the highway in front of the church. It has the following in-
scription:

Hawfields Presbyterian Church
founded about 1755, three miles N.E.
Henry Patillo, the first pastor.
Present building erected 1852.10

At this same service, Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Covington presented the
church with an addition to the Communion Service.

The Home Coming service on May 16, 1943, featured the dedica-
tion of the service plaques given by Mr. Ralph H. Scott which now
hang in the vestibule of the church and which contain the names of
those who served in World War I and World War II. At the after-
noon service these plaques were presented by the pastor, and the
response was made by the Reverend Arthur Vann Gibson, one of
the sons of Hawfields Church. The message of the afternoon was
given by Governor J. Melville Broughton, who spoke on "The
Responsibility of the Church in Time of War."11 Governor Brough-
ton was an orator of the old school and was especially gifted in
making addresses for such occasions as this one.

Hawfields was blessed in that the community suffered only
three casualties as a result of the two World Wars. Edwin Scott,
the son of Mr. and Mrs. R. W. Scott, died in camp during World
War I; Styles Baker, the son of John Mebane Baker, a deacon in
Hawfields Church, was killed in a plane collision in England dur-
ing World War II. Although he lived in the Hawfields community,
Styles was a member of the Trollingwood Episcopal Church. Dewey
Covington, Jr., was killed with the entire crew of the Coronado
seaplane when it crashed into a mountain off the coast of California
on October 17, 1944. The communion table now in use is a gift
to the church in memory of Dewey by his aunts and uncles, the
Fentons and Covingtons.12

220

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Meetings of Orange Presbytery

There were two meetings of Orange Presbytery at Hawfields
during Fleming's pastorate, the first in 1936 and again on Sep-
tember 5, 1945. On this last date presbytery met at Hawfields to
celebrate the one hundred and seventy-fifth anniversary of its or-
ganization. It was fitting that the presbytery elected N. N. Flem-
ing moderator, since the pastor of Hawfields had been elected mod-
erator when Orange Presbytery was organized in Hawfields Church
in 1770. At the morning service, Mrs. W. Kerr Scott presented "The
Historical Sketch of Hawfields Presbyterian Church." Later it was
printed in pamphlet form and included the programs of a number
of significant meetings that had been held in the church.

The morning sermon was preached by Mr. Fleming from the
text, "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the
Lord of Hosts" (Zechariah 4:6). He began his sermon by quoting
from the early minutes that recorded the actions that led to the
organization of Orange Presbytery, and he traced its growth from
small beginnings until the present. He pointed out that Orange
Presbytery "is outranked in age only by Philadelphia, New Castle,
New York and New Brunswick in the Northern Assembly and is the
oldest of the existing 87 Presbyteries in the Southern Assembly." The
sermon closed with an appeal for a deepening of the spiritual life
of the presbytery and for a new effort to go forward.13 In this
sermon he struck the note that had been characteristic of his whole
ministry at Hawfields.

At the afternoon service official representatives from the Gen-
eral Assembly, the Synod of North Carolina and from each of
the presbyteries of the synod brought words of greeting. The
special feature of the afternoon service was an address by the Rev-
erend Walter L. Lingle, on the subject, "Presbyterianism and Civil
Religious Liberty."

Leadership in Church and Civic Affairs

During Neely Fleming's ministry the Hawfields community
continued to take an increasing place of leadership in county and
state affairs. Hawfields was still a rural community and therefore
the primary interest of the people lay in the affairs that affected the
farmers of North Carolina. When Fleming came to Hawfields,

A COMMUNITY CENTER

221

R. W. Scott was serving as a member of the State Board of Agri-
culture, a position to which he had been appointed by Governor
Aycock in 1901. R. W. Scott had filled this position with such
distinction that he had been reappointed by each of six succeeding
governors.

Scott had worked for the establishment of North Carolina State
College in 1887, and, as a member of the board of agriculture, he
also served on the board of trustees for the College. In apprecia-
tion of his services to agriculture the College gave him a "Certifi-
cate of Merit," and in 1927 he received the "Master Farmer" award
from The Progressive Farmer and State College.14

As a member of the legislature he put through the bill for the
erection of Patterson Hall on the campus of the State College, and
as a member of the State Board of Agriculture he had promoted
"team work between State College and the Department of Agri-
culture." He was the author of the Act "requiring that the Com-
missioner of Agriculture and members of the State Board of Ag-
riculture must be practical farmers."15 In 1901 he was elected
president of the first state farmers' convention.

He also served on the board of trustees of Flora Macdonald Col-
lege from 1910 to 1915 and again from 1925 to 1927.16

In 1928 Scott was elected to the State Senate a second time, and
against the protest of his many friends he resigned from the board
of agriculture stating that "he did not think it proper that he serve
in two public capacities at the same time." No successor was ap-
pointed, and as soon as the General Assembly adjourned, Governor
O. Max Gardner reappointed him to the agricultural board.17 Dur-
ing the 1929 session of the Senate, R. W. Scott was chairman of
the agricultural committee and fostered the agricultural legislation
that was passed at that time.

Robert Walter Scott died on May 16, 1929, and the church,
community, and state lost a great public servant. Every important
newspaper in the state paid tribute to his public service. The com-
missioner of agriculture, W. A. Graham, wrote of him:

One of the most beautiful traits he possessed was his freedom from
hypocrisy in any form. He was always frank and spoke from the heart.
. . . He was not only a master farmer but a master gentleman and a
devoted friend. He lived his Christianity and made it a part of his

222

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

relationships with others. That is why he did not dread death but looked
upon it merely as a journey into fairer fields.18

The resolutions adopted by the state board of agriculture spoke
of his interest in the agricultural development of the state and
paid tribute to his "native ability," his "inherent qualities for leader-
ship," and said that "he was familiarly and affectionately" known
throughout the state as "Farmer Bob Scott."19

He had also been chairman of the Test Farm Committee of the
state board of agriculture because test farming was his field of
special interest. At the meeting of the Test Farm superintendents
following his death, this group also paid him a tribute: "He was
known by the superintendents as one whose criticism was at all
times fair and constructive, whose council was wise, whose judg-
ment was correct and farsighted, whose leadership was command-
ing, whose personality was loveable, whose character was admi-
rable and inspiring."20

On Monday, December 8, 1952, North Carolina State College's
new poultry and research center in formal ceremonies was ded-
icated to Scott and was named Scott Hall for him. The principal
speaker for this occasion was Scott's long-time friend, Clarence Poe,
editor of The Progressive Farmer. In reviewing his colleague's
achievements, Dr. Poe said, "Robert Walter Scott was not only a
good farmer, but he wished to see the whole South become a land
of fertile soils, enterprising 'live-at-home' farmers, fine livestock,
and happy country homes . . . and devoted a lifetime to working
constantly for this realization." In concluding, he remarked that
the late Mr. Scott's life was characterized by "vision, vim, and
versatility" and praised him as "one of the most successful men
that North Carolina has yet produced."21

During Neely Fleming's pastorate, W. Kerr Scott and Jere Bason
both served as county agents. In 1930 W. Kerr Scott was elected
Master of the State Grange. The leading spirit in the reorganization
of the Grange, which took place in Raleigh on September 26-27,
1929, was Clarence Poe. This move was an effort to help the farm
situation which had become desperate during the depression years.
Poe had accepted the leadership with the understanding that he
would keep it for only one year.

When the Grange met in Salisbury the next year to elect his sue-

A COMMUNITY CENTER 223

cessor, many of those present had been so impressed by the energy
and ability of W. Kerr Scott, who had just resigned as county agent
in Alamance, that he was elected on the afternoon of October 2,
and notified of this at his home by phone. He drove at once to
Salisbury in his pick-up truck and was installed after midnight,
becoming the second Master of the North Carolina State Grange.22
W. Kerr Scott was elected Master for three successive years and
was elected the fourth time but he declined to serve.

The remarkable growth and influence of the Grange in North
Carolina was due to the dynamic leadership that W. Kerr Scott
gave to the movement during those three years. On his retirement^
Clarence Poe said of him: "All along I have declared that perhaps
the greatest result of Grange work would be the development of
outstanding leadership from the farms. And already, even if he
should never do anything else, W. Kerr Scott has proved himself
one of the greatest leaders North Carolina farmers have ever had.
Big in body, mind and heart, he is fortunately young enough for
greater work to be ahead of him."23 Later, when Kerr Scott was
elected governor, he outlined a fifteen-point program, the first six
of which were a part of his grange program for the benefit of the
North Carolina farmer.

It was characteristic of Kerr Scott and of the community loyalty
that existed in Hawfields that he appointed his own pastor as Chap-
lain to the state Grange, a position which Fleming held until the
time of his death.

The same year that W. Kerr Scott was elected Master of the
state Grange, E. C. Turner was elected county commissioner and
was sworn in on December 1, 1930, and served for one term; in
1944, Ralph H. Scott was elected county commissioner and served
for two terms; in 1936, W. Kerr Scott was elected state commis-
sioner of agriculture and was re-elected in 1940 and in 1944. In
1948 he was elected governor of the state.

During Neely Fleming's pastorate Hawfields took a place of
leadership in the Church also. In 1941, W. Kerr Scott was elected
moderator of Orange Presbytery. The church was represented by
the following commissioners to the General Assembly during that
pastorate: R. W. Scott in 1927; N. N. Fleming in 1928; James P.
Kerr in 1929; E. C. Turner at the Diamond Jubilee Assembly in

224

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

1936; W. Kerr Scott and N. N. Fleming in 1939; and N. N. Flem-
ing in 1946.24

In 1932, Fleming was elected to the board of trustees of Flora
Macdonald College, and in 1940 he was made secretary of the board,
a position that he held until the time of his death. The resolu-
tions adopted by the board at that time spoke of his "deep interest
in, and love for the College" and his self-sacrificing service on its
behalf.25 As a further recognition of his service to the college the
women of the churches of Orange Presbytery redecorated the rooms
in one of the domitories, and it was named Fleming Hall. On
February 14, 1950, at a formal service a plaque that designates his
service to the college was placed in the building.

Two years after he came to Hawfields, he was elected perma-
nent clerk of Orange Presbytery, and on April 15, 1930, he was
elected Stated Clerk of the presbytery, a position he retained until
he died. He was twice moderator of Orange Presbytery, first in
1935 and again in 1945, and served on many committees in the
presbytery and synod. When the Synod of North Carolina met at
Montreat in September, 1948, he was elected moderator.

The Community Building

Almost from the beginning of his ministry at Hawfields, Flem-
ing had worked to procure a community building. When he came
to Hawfields the Sunday school building had just been completed;
he soon saw the need for a community building if the church was
to have its rightful place as the center of the community life of the
congregation, and early in his ministry he began to implant the
idea in the minds of the leaders of the congregation at his officers'
meetings. Although the depression years made a community build-
ing impossible for a farming community for the time being, he
never let the idea die. The idea for such a building had been sug-
gested by W. Kerr Scott in his speech of acceptance when the
Sunday school building had been dedicated in 1926.

The first step towards making this building a reality was a gift
of a fifty-dollar war bond as a start in raising funds for it, in Oc-
tober, 1942, by Mrs. A. L. Turner. In 1943 the matter was taken
up by the officers of the church, and a committee of W. Kerr Scott
(chairman), G. S. Bason, J. W. Covington, J. }. Fenton, Jr., and

A COMMUNITY CENTER

225

R. H. Scott was appointed to take the matter in hand and make
plans for the building. This committee later recommended the
erection of such a building at a cost of about thirty thousand dollars.
The committee also recommended that work should begin as soon
as the congregation had raised twenty thousand dollars. A congre-
gational meeting was then called for November 9, 1943, and after
a sermon by the pastor on "The Rural Church and the Post-War
World," the congregation voted to approve the plans of the com-
mittee.26 This building had also been one of the cherished aims
of W. Kerr Scott, and now that the movement had been definitely
launched he personally solicited most of the funds for the building,
and $18,126.25 had been subscribed in cash and pledges by 1946.
It was truly a project in which the whole community shared.

The high point in Neely Fleming's ministry and perhaps that
which brought him the greatest satisfaction was the ordination of
his son, Russell Booth Fleming, to the ministry in the Hawfields
Church on June 6, 1948.27

The first week in October, 1948, was as usual a busy week in
Neely Fleming's life; he had fulfilled a number of important en-
gagements, and on the evening of October 6, 1948, he visited Elder
J. Earl Covington, to discuss a non-Christian in the community
about whom they were concerned. He stayed until about nine
o'clock and was in his usual jovial mood; "needless to say, the
people of the community, county and state, were shocked when the
word of his passing was announced over the radio the next morn-
ing."28 He had been stricken with a heart attack during the night
and died in the early hours of the morning. "Having run his
course and finished his work he slipped quietly away in the early
hours of October 7, 1948. It was his birthday, a glorious going
home."29

CHAPTER XII

RURAL CHURCH OF THE YEAR

1949-1959

The Reverend Ralph L. Buchanan, ig^g-ig^g

The ten years during which Mr. Buchanan was pastor of the
Hawfields Church were years in which many of the plans and
movements that had been projected in previous years were achieved.
They were years of fulfillment. But by no means did this mean
that the church had become content to look to the past. During
these years it had celebrated its two hundredth anniversary, and
the spirit with which it looked to the third century of its leader-
ship was expressed in an announcement that appeared in the church
bulletin on December 26, 1955. "As we come to the end of our
200th year our hearts are grateful, for this year has been one of the
best in the history of our church, and there looms before us a bright
and challenging future. As we approach this first year of the third
century of our church's life, let us resolve now, under God, to
make it the greatest year yet."1

These years were also years of transition which saw the begin-
ning of changes more far reaching for the future life of the com-
munity than anything that had happened since colonial days. The
rapid industrialization of the South, particularly the State of North
Carolina, following the two world wars brought vast and meaning-
ful changes to many rural communities in the state. Excellent
highways, automobiles, and the nearby industrial centers completely
changed many communities which since colonial days had been
strictly rural. As a result of these movements many changes have
come to the Hawfields community. Only a very small percentage
of the families now depend upon the farm for their livelihood.
With the rapid changes in agricultural methods which have been

RURAL CHURCH OF THE YEAR

227

made by the introduction of modern farm machinery, practically
all of the small farms have disappeared as the sole source of income
for those who live on them.

The physical features of the community have also changed. New
highways have come to the community, and the old farm homes
have been modernized; many new homes have been erected along
these highways, bringing new people into the community. No
longer are crops, and the weather as it affected the crops, the chief
topics of conversation as the men gather about the church before
and after services. The old way of life, with its institutions and
events so vital to a rural community, has now largely disappeared.

It is a tribute to the leadership of Mr. Fleming and Mr. Buchanan
and to the officers of the church that in these years of transition the
church has preserved and strengthened the Hawfields spirit in ad-
justing to new times.

After the sudden and unexpected death of Neely Fleming, the
church was fortunate in securing the services of the Reverend
Charles E. Hodgin, a retired Presbyterian minister from Greensboro,
who supplied the pulpit from November 1, 1948 to June 1, 1949.

On October 17, 1948, the congregation appointed the elders,
Robert Gibson from the young people, Mrs. R. C. Mebane from
the Women of the Church, and R. H. Scott, chairman of the board
of deacons, as a committee to secure a new minister for the church.
On March 20, 1949, this committee recommended to the congre-
gation the Reverend Ralph L. Buchanan, who was at that time
superintendent of Home Missions in Winston-Salem Presbytery.
He was unanimously elected, and J. E. Covington was appointed
to prosecute the call and the elders were appointed to sign the
call for the congregation.2

Mr. Buchanan accepted the call and began work on June 1,
1949, and June 12 was set for the date of his installation. The com-
mission appointed by Orange Presbytery for this service was to con-
sist of: the Reverend C. E. Hodgin to preside, the Reverend J. A.
Boyd to preach the sermon, the Reverend W. M. Baker to charge
the pastor, and elder J. S. White to charge the congregation.3

Ralph Laster Buchanan was born at Senia, North Carolina, on
February 21, 1912. He graduated from King College in 1938 and
entered Union Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in

228

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

1941. On August 26, 1941, he married Flora Margaret McGoogan
of St. Pauls, North Carolina. The Buchanans have two children,
Danny and Martha. He was ordained by Winston-Salem Presby-
tery on July 20, 1941, and accepted the call to the Pine Hall, Sandy
Ridge, and Danbury group of churches, which he served from
1941 to 1945. In 1945 he was called to become superintendent of
Home Missions in Winston-Salem Presbytery, which position he
held until he resigned to become pastor of the Hawfields Church.4

The Community Building

Buchanan began his ministry at Hawfields just as the church
was ready to launch its building program for the community build-
ing for which it had been raising money since 1942. The church
bulletin for Home Coming Day on May 15, 1949, announced that
the initial gift in October, 1942, had grown to $21,600 and stated
that the building, as it was shown in the plans on the bulletin board,
would cost $55,000.

The building committee continued working on the plans until
finally the contract was let for the construction to the Albright
Construction Company for $6o,ooo.5 The Albrights were active
members of Hawfields, and the building would no doubt have
cost considerably more than that figure if it had been done by an
outside contractor. The work was begun in June, 1949, and com-
pleted in May, 1950.6 It was built on the west side of the church,
in the same style of architecture, and connected with the Sunday
school building at the rear of the church by an arched corridor.
On the inside there is a spacious fellowship hall with a large fire-
place on either side. The fireplace sets are a gift from Mr. and
Mrs. Jones Mayberry. At the rear of the hall there is a modern
kitchen, a pastor's study, and classrooms for the Sunday school.

One of the methods adopted by the congregation to raise funds
to pay for the builidng was the Harvest Festival sales. The first
Harvest Festival sale mentioned in the minutes of the session was
held on October 26, 1946, and netted $1,126.01. These sales grew
in popularity year by year and drew large crowds from the nearby
towns. No one enjoyed these occasions more than Governor Scott,
who served as the auctioneer for a number of the sales. From the
November 18, 1950 sale the church realized $2700, and a newspaper

RURAL CHURCH OF THE YEAR

229

clipping, which is undated, says that the Hawfields Church netted
"approximately $3500 at its eighth annual Harvest Festival last
Saturday." These sales began in the afternoon, and in addition to
the many items that were donated by the members of the church
for the sale, supper and barbecue were sold on the grounds.

At a congregational meeting on February 19, 1950, the congre-
gation voted to name the building the Fellowship Building of
Hawfields Presbyterian Church and to place a plaque inside in
memory of the services of the Fleming family. This bronze plaque
was placed above the fireplace on the east side of the large fellow-
ship hall:

Fellowship Building
of

Hawfields Presbyterian Church
Erected 1951

A tribute to the twenty-two years of Service of the Fleming
Family, 1926-1948, to former Pastors and their families and to the
faithful members and Friends of the Church.

Dedicated to the Glory of God and the physical, mental, and
spiritual growth of all the People.

To complete the building, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph H. Scott and
Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Holmes gave 250 chairs for the Fellowship
Hall. At the Home Coming service on May 21, 1950, Mrs. Cad A.
Albright presented to the Church the oil painting of Mr. Fleming
which now hangs in the men's Bible classroom.

The guest minister for this Home Coming day was Dr. Walter
L. Lingle, who spoke on "Presbyterianism and Christian Character,"
to a congregation that filled the auditorium and balcony to over-
flowing. Dr. Lingle wrote an account of this service in his "Talks
on Timely Topics," for the June 28, 1950, issue of the Christian
Observer in which he said, "It was a moving sight to see this great
congregation sitting together in heavenly places around the Lord's
table."

The Two Hundredth Anniversary
The year 1955 was celebrated as the two hundredth anniversary
of the organization of the church. The first event of this historical
year was the Home Coming service on May 15. Dr. Harold J.

23°

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

Dudley, Executive Secretary of the Synod of North Carolina was
present and took part in the service. United States Senator W. Kerr
Scott made a report on the progress of the church through the
years. The morning sermon was a historical address delivered by
Dr. John W. Christie, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of
Wilmington, Delaware. He was an eminent church historian and
at that time was president of the Delaware State Historical So-
ciety.7 He had been recommended to the session by Dr. Ben R.
Lacy as the most outstanding church historian in America.

The next event of this historical year was the dedication of the
community building on September 25. The debt on the building
had now been paid in full, and in keeping with the spirit of the
building, which had been truly a community project, no outside
speaker was invited for this service. After appropriate remarks by
the pastor, W. Kerr Scott, the chairman of the building committee,
and others, words of dedication were recited. It was fitting that the
prayer of dedication was ordered by N. N. Fleming III.

The final event of this historical year was the evangelistic service
that began on November 6. This service was conducted by the
four sons of the church who were in the ministry, Arthur Vann
Gibson, Herbert S. Turner, Russell Booth Fleming, and Lacy Mc-
Pherson. It had been a rich year and with confidence and faith the
church turned its face to the third century of its existence.

Forward Movements

From time to time Hawfields Church had tried to meet her
responsibility to the outlying districts by establishing outpost Sun-
day schools and preaching points. None of these lasted very long,
and finally the church decided it would be more effective to bring
these people to the central school by bus. By the time Mr. Buchanan
came, the old bus which had been in use for some time was about
worn out. On Sunday, November 5, 1950, it was announced that
the officers had raised $1100 towards the purchase of a new bus
and an appeal was made to the congregation for additional funds.
The special offering that day amounted to $699.00. With this
amount as a start a splendid new bus was purchased and put into
operation. The bus now regularly brings about forty children to
Sunday school on each Sunday morning. It is also used to transport

RURAL CHURCH OF THE YEAR

231

children to the Bible school each summer, to take the young people
on their camping trips, and to provide a means of travel for other
large groups as the occasion may arise.

On Monday morning, August 27, 1951, the young people left
by bus for a camping trip in the Great Smoky Mountains. This
trip has come to be an annual event in the church's program for
the young people. They have camped in many areas of the state and
have seen the state's major attractions from the mountains to the
sea.

In January, 1952, Boy Scout troop 52 was organized in the Haw-
fields community, and John D. Kimrey, C. P. Wells, B. A. Mc-
Pherson, B. C. Covington, Kerr Freshwater, and Osborne Scott
were appointed the scout committee by the session. This committee
elected B. A. McPherson as the first scout master and Osborne Scott
and Kerr Freshwater as assistants.8

On May 25, 1954, Mr. Buchanan conducted the first television
service of Hawfields carried over the television station in Greens-
boro.

In 1956 the old manse that had been built in 1907 and that was
now sadly in need of repair was taken down. It had seen hard
use during Mr. Fleming's pastorate by serving not only as a home
but as a gathering place for the young people and other groups.
The new manse constructed on the same spot is the gift of S. F.
Scott and Ralph H. Scott. The home was completely furnished by
Mrs. Elizabeth Scott Carrington. This gift was made in honor of
their parents, R. W. and Elizabeth Hughes Scott. The new manse,
in its spacious setting, is the equal of any in Orange Presbytery.

On October 15, 1957, Hawfields Church took another for-
ward step. The members of the session on that date chose to pre-
sent the Rotary System to the congregation for adoption on the
following December 22.9 This plan had been in operation in the
board of deacons since 1940.

When the segregation issue came to the fore in the South, Haw-
fields Church was the first Presbyterian Church in the Synod of
North Carolina to integrate. On November 12, 1957, the session
voted overwhelmingly to instruct the ushers to admit and seat
in a place of his own choice any Negro who might come to worship
there.10

The church is looking toward a new and more adequate edu-

232 CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

cational building, and there is a building fund for this future proj-
ect. Additional land at the rear of the building has been purchased
for an expanded program in the future.

Directors of Religious Education

Under Mr. Buchanan's leadership the work of the church went
forward rapidly, and in February, 1951, Mary Catherine McCormick
became the first full-time Director of Religious Education. Miss
McCormick was from St. Pauls, North Carolina, and was a grad-
uate of Flora Macdonald College and the School of Christian Edu-
cation in Richmond, Virginia. In Hawfields from 1951 to 1954 she
did a splendid piece of work, and the congregation now made a
Director of Religious Education a permanent position on its staff.
She was succeeded by Rachel Ellis of Wilmington, North Carolina,
also a graduate of Flora Macdonald College. Miss Ellis stayed for
only one year, 1954-55, an<^ was followed by Miss SuBette Shelby
of Anniston, Alabama. Miss Shelby was a graduate of Queen's
College in Charlotte and worked at Hawfields for two years, from
1957 to 1959, before she resigned to marry Austin Strand of Greens-
boro, North Carolina.

During the last two years of Buchanan's pastorate the other
members of the church staff were Miss Shelby, director of religious
education; Mrs. Bob Webster, part-time secretary; Mrs. Hughes
Scott, director of music and organist; Mr. William Kirkpatrick,
director of the choir; and Miss Fay Webster, assistant organist.

As director of religious education Mrs. Strand was succeeded
by Miss Harriet Thomas, the present director. Miss Thomas was
born in York, South Carolina, and grew up as a member of the
Beersheba Presbyterian Church. She graduated from Winthrop
College in Rock Hill, South Carolina, in 1959 and began her work
at Hawfields in June of that year.

In 1958 Mr. Rudolf Kronberg was employed as a full-time care-
taker for the church. On October 14, 1944, the Kronbergs fled from
their homes in Latvia when the Russians moved in. In Germany,
they were taken to Camp Fishback, Nuremberg, a camp for dis-
placed persons. On December 14, 1949, they arrived in America
and came to Burlington. Two weeks before Christmas they came
to the Ralph H. Scott place, and the people of the community
furnished them generously with food and clothing. Mr. and Mrs.

RURAL CHURCH OF THE YEAR

233

Kronberg and their three oldest children have now received their
American citizenship and are members of Hawfields Church.11

The Grange Award

Each year the North Carolina State Grange selects a rural church
as the most outstanding church in the state and presents that church
with a bronze plaque. At a meeting of the Grange held in the
O. Henry Hotel in Greensboro on October 30, 1956, Hawfields
Church was awarded this honor and named the Rural Church of
the Year.12 The North Carolina Grange News carried a full ac-
count of this award and, following a sketch of the church's history,
pointed out some of the activities in the social and recreational
program of the church to meet the needs of the young people and
adults of the community.13 The state Grange Master, Harry B.
Caldwell, expressed his pleasure in having the good fortune to
present this award to "a great congregation" with which he had
been intimately associated for more than a quarter of a century.

When the announcement was made that Hawfields had received
this award, the Raleigh News and Observer in its Sunday edition of
October 28, 1956, carried a feature article on the church under the
title, "Alamance County Has Church of the Year." It, too, spoke
of the life and vitality of the congregation and emphasized the spirit-
ual contribution of the church to the community. It spoke of the
pastor's "frequent visits with the families where he prays with them
and for them and encourages them to make daily worship a fam-
ily affair." It mentioned the "Helping Hand" fund for needy
families in the community, church members or not, who may need
it. This fund is used to pay doctor bills, buy food, clothing, shoes,
and other necessary items. It said, "Members at Hawfields though
proud of their heritage and accomplishments are not content to
rest on their laurels. They are providing for the younger genera-
tions coming along and are building for the future."14

The bronze plaque bears the following inscription:

North Carolina
State Grange
Award
To the
Rural Church of the Year
1956

234

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

It was fitting that the New Hope Church, which had been a part
of the original Hawfields congregation in early colonial days, should
have received honorable mention in the same year.

Recognitions

In addition to the statewide recognition which came to the
church through the Grange award, recognitions of various kinds
came to individual members of the Hawfields community during
Mr. Buchanan's ministry. In 1951, the Reverend Arthur Vann
Gibson, minister of the Morningside Presbyterian Church in At-
lanta, Georgia, who grew up in the Hawfields community, won
notice when the November, 195 1, issue of McCall's magazine wrote
up his Pastor's Study radio and television show, "Midnight Min-
ister." Dr. Gibson was the originator of the program, for which he
received the George Foster Peabody Award, the Ohio State Uni-
versity Award, and the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism
Award.

Arthur, as he is still known to his many friends and relatives
in the Hawfields community, has rendered an outstanding service
to the church at large in the field of radio and television ministry.
He served as chairman of the Radio Committee of the Presbyterian
Church, U.S., for nine years; as a trustee of the Protestant Radio
center; as a member of the board of managers of the Broadcasting
and Film Commission of the National Council of Churches; and
chairman of the Ad Interim Committee on Mass Communication
of the Presbyterian Church, U.S., from 1956 to 1958.

Dr. Gibson moved to Atlanta in 1943 and has become a leader
in church and civic affairs in that city. He has served on a number
of committees of the General Assembly and as president of the
Greater Atlanta Council of Churches.15

The next year, First Lieutenant John Lewis (Jack) Turner, the
son of Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Turner, a pilot in the United States
Air Force in Korea received national recognition. In December,
1952, "Jack" was awarded the Bronze Star and a Presidential ci-
tation for outstanding and heroic service. In i960, Jack Turner,
then a captain, received further recognition in a letter of commen-
dation from Colonel Tarleton H. Watkins, commander of the 322
Air Division for his activities as part of the United Nations mission

RURAL CHURCH OF THE YEAR 235

to the Congo. Watkins wrote, "Your pe severance, professional
competency and dedication to duty during this critical period re-
flected great credit upon you and the 322 Air Division. I congrat-
ulate you for a job well done." Captain Turner also received an
accompanying congratulatory letter from his commanding officer,
Lieutenant-Colonel John P. Jones, Jr., commander of the 39th Troop
Aircarrier Squadron.16

National attention was also focused on the Hawfields com-
munity when W. Kerr Scott was elected governor of the state in
1948 and later to the United States Senate in 1954.

Other rewards came to Hawfields during these years. On April
17, 1951, Governor Scott was elected moderator of Orange Presby-
tery at its spring meeting in Madison, North Carolina. On May
9, 1951, N. N. Fleming III, the son of the former pastor, was elected
president of the Men of Orange Presbytery. In 1954, the Reverend
Russell Fleming, also a son of the former pastor, was named by
the city of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, "Young Man of the
Year" for 1954 and received a "Distinguished Service Award" for
his outstanding work in his church and in the city of Rocky Mount.

A number of significant gifts were made to the church during
these years also. On September 23, 1951, the children of Mr. and
Mrs. J. W. Farrell gave additional offering plates in memory of
their parents. Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Covington added to the Com-
munion Service. Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Holmes, Sr., presented the
church with two hundred hymnals in memory of their son Billy.
Mrs. Elizabeth Scott Carrington established a memorial fund in
memory of her mother, Mrs. R. W. Scott. In 1956 Mr. Craig John-
son presented to the church the handmade walnut cabinet that
was owned by Captain William Craig Johnson of the Revolutionary
era. Senator W. Kerr Scott established a standing offer of fifty
dollars to each adult over twenty-five years of age who would re-
cite perfectly the Shorter Catechism. Mr. Curtis Capps was the
first person to claim this award.17 All of these recognitions and
gifts are evidences of the life and vitality of the church today.

Achievements in the Political World

During the ten years of Ralph Buchanan's pastorate at Haw-
fields, three members of the Scott family, who like their father

236

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

and grandfather before them were elders in Hawfields Church,
made notable contributions to the educational and political life of
the county and state.

When Mr. Buchanan arrived in June, 1949, W. Kerr Scott had
just been elected governor of the state in the spectacular and dra-
matic campaign of 1948. In reviewing his term as governor an
editorial in The Smith field Herald said that no governor, with the
exception of Aycock, "has influenced the direction of North Caro-
lina's growth as greatly as Kerr Scott."18

It was characteristic of Governor Scott that he drove the fifty
miles between Raleigh and Hawfields each Sunday morning in
order that he might be in his place at the regular morning service.
After the service was over he stood about the church door mingling
with his boyhood friends and neighbors, not as the governor of the
state, but as one of the Hawfields "boys."

One of the features of the church's program was the officers'
meetings. Every third month the elders and deacons met jointly,
alternating between the homes of the elders and deacons. In No-
vember, 1951, it was Governor and Mrs. Scott's turn to entertain the
officers; and on Friday, November 2, 1952, the elders and deacons
were invited to hold their meeting at the Executive Mansion in
Raleigh. On this occasion the wives of both groups were invited.
Of all the meetings of various kinds that have been held in the
Executive Mansion, this meeting, when the elders and deacons of
a rural church sat down with the governor as one of them to con-
sider the program and problems of their church, was perhaps unique.

On November 2, 1954, Governor Scott was elected to the United
States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Willis Smith,
and at the same time he was elected to a full term beginning on
January 3, 1955. In this election Governor Scott received the largest
majority ever given to a Democratic senatorial candidate in North
Carolina.19

In June of that year it was again Senator and Mrs. Scott's turn
to have the joint meeting of the elders and deacons at their home.
Both groups of men and their wives were invited to come to Wash-
ington for this meeting. The meal and the meeting were held in
the Senate dining room of the Capitol building. Senator Scott in-
vited the chaplain of the Senate to this meeting and he in turn

RURAL CHURCH OF THE YEAR

invited Ralph Buchanan to open the Senate with prayer on June 7,
1955. The group drove to Washington in the church bus and made
a tour of the city while they were there.

Senator Scott's career was cut short by his death from a heart
attack in a Burlington hospital on April 15, 1958. The Senate
adjourned when the news of his death was announced until the
next day at noon, and a day was set aside for eulogies. Both House
and Senate appointed a committee to attend the funeral which was
conducted in the Hawfields Church. He was buried in the Haw-
fields cemetery, among his own people, just across the highway
from the church.

The memorial addresses delivered in the House and Senate to-
gether with many of the newspaper editorials on Senator Scott were
later printed by the Joint Committee on Printing of Congress.
Senator Lyndon Johnson spoke of "his earthly common sense, his
candor, his wisdom, and his dedication to the ideals of doing what
was right." Senator Estes Kefauver called him "one of our eminent
authorities on agricultural problems in the United States." Senator
Hubert Humphrey said that he was in the best sense of the word
"a representative of his people." The New York Times spoke of
him as "A Southern Liberal." The Watauga Democrat of April 24,
1958, said, "The passing of Senator W. Kerr Scott brings to an end
one of the most colorful and uniquely fruitful careers in the history
of the State."20

When Kerr Scott's long-time friend, Frank P. Graham, was
asked for a statement regarding the significance of Kerr Scott's
career as Governor and Senator for the state of North Carolina, Dr.
Graham wrote:

Something as natural and fresh, open and wholesome as the clean air
of the country side came into public life with W. Kerr Scott of rural Ala-
mance. He was clearcut in thinking, forthright in speech, direct in
approach and bold in action. He came from the people, appealed to
the people, was supported by the people, struggled steadfastly and
achieved mightily for the people. North Carolina is more truly a com-
monwealth today because in his day he lived and labored in and for
North Carolina. . . .

In all his political battles he had able, honorable and worthy op-
ponents over whom he won after hard fighting in strenuous campaigns.
He had no organization in the machine sense. His appeals were mainly

238 CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

directed to the people, and his strength was in the people rather than
in a cohesive organization.

Whether as a boy ploughing thoroughly to the ends of the rows by
the side of a Negro plowman on his father's farm, or as a student at
State College in Raleigh walking all the way home at Christmas time
to save money to buy a Christmas present or, as a County farm agent in
Alamance in establishing a record, or as a field artilleryman in the First
World War, or the State Commissioner of Agriculture or as Governor
or as United States Senator, Kerr Scott was his natural, sometimes un-
predictable and always refreshing self. In all situations he had the feel
of the soil in his thinking, the tang of the fields in his speech, and the
heartbeat of the people in his impulses and programs. . . .

It was a joy to have a small part in working with this man, whether
in helping to patch up a long-running, destructive feud between the
State College and the State Department of Agriculture, or in cooperat-
ing in his long run agricultural programs for the state and nation, or in
reciprocal speaking for his plans to build all-weather rural roads and
make more accessible the stores, the churches and the schools for the
people and their children in the back country, or to join in the pro-
grams for better public schools, state colleges and a greater Consolidated
University of the people, with its impetus to all the schools, colleges and
agencies of the people's life. As governor and Chairman of the Uni-
versity Board of Trustees he was keen about making the Woman's
College not only the largest but also one of the foremost residential
colleges of liberal arts for women in America; the advance of the North
Carolina State College into the front rank of America's land grant
colleges, with high distinction in agriculture, engineering, textile and
architecture; and the University in Chapel Hill, not only as the oldest
State University but more increasingly one of the most eminent and
useful in the liberal arts, business administration, professional and grad-
uate schools with recognized eminence among the Universities of North
America. . . .

He took his case to the people. He made the people's cause his cause.
The people made his cause their cause. The legislature put through his
magnificent program for the State institutions. The people in a state-
wide referendum voted decisively for the development of the ports at
Wilmington and Morehead City and for the all-weather roads for the
people of rural North Carolina.

His programs, instead of repelling or hurting business, attracted in-
dustries and developed agriculture and business in North Carolina. This
was done without preferential tax treatment for specially irresponsible
wealth so injurious in the long run to both the dynamic economic enter-

RURAL CHURCH OF THE YEAR 239

prise and the socially productive wealth essential to the wholesome
progress of a free society.

In the United States Senate, he revealed himself as direct as the
sunlight and as earthy as the soil in his championship of those whose
work produces the food and fibros and provides the sustenance, clothing
and shelter of the people. Not only so, he was also as far-visioned as
the wide horizons of our modern world. He proposed a world food
bank to help meet the mass miseries of countless millions in two hemi-
spheres, as an expression of the compassionate American people, as the
wise use of surpluses and as a moral offensive for freedom and peace
in this world of hazard and hope.

For comparison as to Scott's significance, not in identical but in sug-
gestive example on the national scale, the valiant figure of "Old Hickory"
comes to mind as we recall his entrance in the public arena of combat
for the people.

When Kerr Scott was inaugurated, he was the first farmer in fifty
years to become Governor of North Carolina. The "boys at the head
of the branch" had arrived in Raleigh in the person of the rough and
tumble fighting farmer from Alamance. While President, Andrew Jack-
son beat back special interests which sought to control the financial
policies of the United States. While Governor, Kerr Scott triumphed
over powerful forces which sought, albeit honestly but mistakenly, to
block the program for going forward with and for the people. Under
Andrew Jackson, the Republic became more of a democracy. Under
Kerr Scott, the State became more of a commonwealth. If living today
he would surely be for federal aid to the states for education and foreign
aid for the hungry, sick and disinherited people of the earth, upon whose
decent freedom, health and well being may depend the equal freedom,
organized peace and survival of all people on the earth as the God-
given homes of the family of men.21

Many of Kerr Scott's friends expressed their affection for him
by making tangible gifts to the Hawfields Church as memorials
to his memory. On September 7, 1958, the people who had worked
with him in the Department of Agriculture while he was Com-
missioner of Agriculture, presented to the church an altar service
in his memory. In making this presentation, Mr. L. Y. Ballentine
said, "It is given in loving memory of a friend and colleague and
in honor of a great North Carolina Statesman."22

The worship center in the men's Bible classroom is a gift in
memory of his father by Osborne Scott. The W. Kerr Scott me-

240

CHURCH IN THE OLD FIELDS

morial fund was created by the members of the Hawfields com-
munity and friends throughout the state. The church also received
a fund from the will of Senator Scott.

Ralph H. Scott, also a son of R. W. Scott and an elder in Haw-
fields Church, holds a place of leadership in the county and state.
In addition to his activities in the Hawfields Church he is one of
the outstanding business men in the city of Burlington. Besides
his service as County Commissioner he has served in the state Sen-
ate in 1951, 1953, 1955, in the special session in 1956, and in the
1961 meetings of the General Assembly. In the November, i960,
election for the 1961 session, Ralph Scott received the largest num-
ber of votes of any of the candidates on the Democratic ticket.

Henry A. Scott, a third son of R. W. Scott and an elder in Haw-
fields Church and clerk of the session, has also taken a place of
leadership in the county and state. On April 1, 1939, he was ap-
pointed a member of the county board of education and has served
continuously since that time. He has been both vice-chairman and
chairman of the board. In 1943 Governor Broughton appointed
him to the board of trustees of the Agricultural and Technical
College of North Carolina in Greensboro. He was reappointed
by Governor Scott in 1949 and again by Governor Hodges in 1955.
The public service of the Scott family has been a major contribu-
tion of the Hawfields church and community to the life of the
county, state, and nation.

In November, i960, N. N. Fleming III, a son of the former
pastor, was elected County Commissioner for a term of four years.

In the early summer of 1959, Ralph Buchanan accepted a call
to become executive secretary of Piedmont Presbytery in South
Carolina, and a congregational meeting was called for July 19 to
act on his resignation. Mr. Buchanan had been a genuine leader
during the ten years of his pastorate and held the love and esteem
of the entire congregation. It was with deep regret and with a
genuine sense of loss that the congregation acceded to his request
to dissolve the pastoral relationship.

No appraisal of this minister's stay at Hawfields would be com-
plete without some reference to the contribution that Mrs. Buchanan
made to the success of the pastorate. She grew up in a section of
North Carolina deeply rooted in Scottish and Presbyterian tradi-

RURAL CHURCH OF THE YEAR

241

tions, and by birth and training she is ideally fitted for church
work. She is a graduate of the Woman's College of the University
of North Carolina in Greensboro and attended the School of Chris-
tian Education in Richmond for one year. During the years at
Hawfields, in addition to her family responsibilities she was active
in all phases of work of the church. Expressions of appreciation
were set forth on Mrs. Buchanan's behalf by the session on August

3> 1959-

We, the Session, wish to extend to you our gratitude and apprecia-
tion for the valuable contribution that the two of you have made to
the excellent growth of our Church. Your diligence and dedication to
the total program of the Church and in all things Presbyterian, have
been an inspiration, as the two of you with simplicity and sincerity have
set a Christian example for us, for which we heartily extend to you
our deep esteem and affection.

May God richly bless you, Danny and Martha, as you continue to
serve him.23

The family night supper on August 5, 1959, was in a sense a
going-away party for the Buchanans. At this meeting the Sunday
school presented Mrs. Buchanan with a lovely bed spread, and the
community presented them with a television set and a silver tray
that was engraved:

To the Ralph L. Buchanans with love
and appreciation for faithful and
devoted service
June 1, 1949-August 9, 1959
Hawfields Presbyterian Church

During Mr. Buchanan's ministry 231 members were received
into the membership of the church. In a letter I received from Mr.
Buchanan he described the Hawfields Church as he had known
it during the ten years of his ministry. He said that it was a church
characterized by "vision, devotion and progressiveness ; always look-
ing to and thinking about and planning for the future."

EPILOGUE

On July 26, 1959, the congregation appointed Mrs. H. C. Doss
and Mrs. Robert Webster from the Women of the Church; Ralph
H. Scott, N. N. Fleming III, and H. W. Webster from the men
of the congregation; and Roland Scott and Fay Webster from the
young people, to form a committee to consult with the Commission
on the Minister and His Work and to recommend a new minister.
Wiliam A. Lofquist, a graduate of Union Theological Seminary,
who was at that time doing graduate work at the University of
North Carolina, was secured to supply the pulpit for the time being.

On November 22, 1959, Mrs. Robert Webster, reporting for the
committee, presented to the congregation the name of the Reverend
Samuel N. Thomas. After she had related his experience and fit-
ness to lead the congregation in the days ahead, he was unanimously
elected pastor and the call was prepared. Mr. Thomas accepted the
call and moved to the Hawfields manse on January 14, i960.

Samuel N. Thomas was born in Wilmington, North Carolina,
on June 10, 1928. He is a graduate of Davidson College and Union
Theological Seminary. On October 3, 1952, he married Miss Frances
Boland Lindler of Columbia, South Carolina. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas
have three children, Samuel Norman, Frances Gene, and James
Roland. Before coming to Hawfields he was pastor of the Acme
Presbyterian Church of Acme, North Carolina, from 1952 to 1957,
and assistant pastor and minister of education of the First Presbyter-
ian Church of High Point from 1957 to i960.

Mr. Thomas was installed pastor of the Hawfields Church on
February 7, i960, by the commission of Orange Presbytery. Clark
Stark presided, K. M. Mesenheimer preached the sermon, William
E. Lytch charged the congregation, Elder H. P. Morrison charged

EPILOGUE

243

the pastor, and Elder Ralph H. Scott from Hawfields read the
Scripture. With the conclusion of this service another name was
added to the long list of ministers who have served this historic
congregation.

The spacious church is today a living witness to the love and
loyalty with which the people of this community have supported
their church through the centuries. Many of the members of church
and community have been forgotten with the passing of the years,
only their names remaining on the tombstones in the cemetery
across the highway; but the strength and vigor of the Hawfields
Church continues as a living memorial to their devotion and loyalty.

Since pioneer days the people of the Hawfields Church and
community have not been afraid to forge ahead with new vision
and new purpose in the midst of the changes that time brings.
Theirs is "the new way of life" that their ancestors envisaged more
than two hundred years ago, upon first coming to the Haw old
fields. Today there are hundreds of men and women, in every
part of the country and in all walks of life, whose roots go back
to the Hawfields and whose ideals bear the stamp of the community
that has contributed so much to the cultural, political, and religious
heritage of North Carolina.

APPENDICES

Appendix a

elders in hawfields church

The Reverend D. I. Craig lists the following as founders of the
original Hawfields Church and possible elders.

Gilbert Strayhorn Alexander Mebane

William Mebane Andrew Murdock

The "Historical Sketch of Hawfields Presbyterian Church" lists the
following as possible early elders.

James Tate James A. Craige

William McDaniel Samuel Nelson

At the end of the first session book 1850, there is a list of elders in
Hawfields. The following names appear on this list, but these names
do not occur in the minutes which begin in 1836.

Samuel Kirkpatrick, Sr. Alexander Russell

Elbridge Mebane Samuel Gill

Joseph Baker Thomas Gill

Elders who are mentioned in the minutes which begin on March 26,
1836, but were elected and ordained before 1936.

Stephen Glass (clerk) John Fossett

Samuel Kerr (clerk) Samuel Kirkpatrick

David White Samuel Kerr

Samuel White Samuel Scott

Samuel Tate John Scott

246

APPENDICES

Elders in Hawfields Church with the dates of their ordination. In
some cases the Minute is not dated but the year is given.

(clerk)

Stephen White

March 13

1842

John Nelson

March 13

1842

James Johnston

September 8

1850

Henderson Scott

September 8

1850

George W. White

September 8

1850

David M. Mebane

September 8

1850

Joseph Tate

May 23

i860

Dr. B. F. Mebane

May 23

i860

Robert Wilson

May 23

i860

George A. Allen

May 23

i860

Dr. Alexander Wilson

No date

1874

T. C. Johnston

No date

1874

Armstrong Tate

No date

1874

D. W. Kerr

March 23

1879

Samuel K. Scott

March 23

1879

John A. Patton

April 13

1884

A. V. Craig

April 13

1884

J. P. Kerr

April 13

1884

S. A. White

April 13

1884

R. W. Scott

May 10

1897

J. R. White

May 10

1897

E. C. Turner

May 10

1897

James P. Kerr

April 8

1906

Joseph S. Gibson

May 29

1907

John W. Bason

May 29

1907

J. P. Kerr

October 6

1912

J. T. Dick

February 7

1915

R. C. White

April 3

1927

Dave McPherson

February 8

1930

J. W. Bason

February 8

1930

Henry A. Scott

November 6

1932

J. Earl Covington

October 1

1933

W. Kerr Scott

October 15

1933

J. W. Covington

April 30

1939

J. J. Fenton, Jr.

April 21

1940

Eugene Evans

April 4

1943

J. Clay Wilson

April 4

1943

R. C. Mebane

March 2

1947

John D. Kimrey

February 26

1950

(clerk)

(re-elected)

(clerk)

John H. Wood
H. C. Doss
Henry Webster

APPENDICES

February 18 1951

February 17 1952

December 4 1955

247

On December 22, 1957, the Rotary System was adopted by the con-

gregation for the Elders.

W. F. Covington
J. A. Whitfield
Ralph H. Scott
J. T. Dixon
Roy M. Gumm
N. N. Fleming, III

February 2
February 2
February 2
February 2
September 13
October 30

1958
1958
1958
1958

!959
i960

APPENDIX B

BOARD OF DEACONS

There were no deacons in Hawfields Church prior to 1866. The
following is a list of those who served on the Board of Deacons and
the date of their ordination.

Wm. C. Johnston

July 28

1866

Stephen A. White

July 28

1866

Thos. B. Thompson

July 28

1866

Jeremiah Bason

July 28

1866

John W. Bason

July 28

1866

Wm. J. Kerr

July 28

1866

C. J. Kerr

April

1874

Robert Sharp

April

1874

W. H. Bason

April 13

1884

J. R. White

April 13

1884

A. A. Thompson

April 13

1884

J. Currie Johnston

May 8

1887

R. W. Scott

May 8

1887

C. Kerr Thompson

Feb. 8

1891

Pleasant Dixon

Feb. 8

1891

Wm. James Gibson

May 10

1897

John Mebane Baker

May 10

1897

John A. Isley

May 10

1897

James P. Cheek

April 8

1906

James Covington

May 29

1907

John Henry Freshwater

May 29

1907

W. Kerr Scott

April 20

1919

248

APPENDICES

Alfred I. Brown

April 20

IQIQ

y y

A. L. Turner

April 20

IQIQ

y y

Edward G. Kerr

April 20

IQIQ

y y

Julian Gill

April 20

IQIQ

y y

C. Dewey Covington

April 20

IQIQ

y y

Wm. C. Woods

April 20

IQIQ

y y

John J. Fenton

April 20

IQIQ

John J. Fenton, Jr.

Feb. 26

1928

J. W. Covington

Nov. 13

1932

Robert W. Gibson

Nov. 13

1932

W. H. Albright

February 18

7J 1

R. H. Scott

February 18

1934

J. Clay Wilson

June 18

1939

George S. Bason

June 18

1939

James H. Phillips

June 18

1939

On March 31, 1940, the congregation adopted the Rotary System for
the Board of Deacons. In the following list the names are only given
when they were elected for the first time.

John D. Kimrey

April 28

1940

Eugene Evans

April 28

1940

Will Farrell

April 28

1940

W. Carl Holmes

April 28

1940

H. C. Doss

March 21

1940

A. Hughes Scott

March 21

1940

W. A. Holmes

March 21

1940

Odel Smith

March 8

1942

J. W. Farrell, Sr.

March 28

1943

Frank Dixon

March 28

!943

B. C. Covington

March 18

J945

Clarence Mebane

March 30

1946

Henry Webster

March 30

1946

N. N. Fleming, Jr.

March 2

1947

C. N. Ellis

March 2

1947

John H. Wood

March 2

1947

J. Troy Dixon

March 2

!947

Wade Files

February 27

1949

W. H. Covington

February 27

1949

C. Preston Wells

February 26

1950

Baxter McPherson

February 25

1951

Linwood Albright

February 25

1951

APPENDICES

). i\. vvniineia

rebruary 24

1952

Fleming Zachary

February 24

1952

TT„1 T7 „11

rial rarrell

T"» 1

February 24

1952

E. L. Caviness

February 24

1952

Dewey Scott

rebruary 15

J953

j. i atton

November 22

T953

Jones Mayberry

November 22

J953

Harvey Mann

July 25

!954

James Watkins

July 25

T954

T All • 1 .

James Albright

August 22

1954

Curtis Capps

August 22

io54

T> 1_ X T T T 7 1

Robert N. Webster

August 22

1954

Kerr Freshwater

October 23

1955

Robert Scott

October 23

J955

Jri. C. McEean

November 4

1956

/~v 1 11 o *^1

Odell Smith

XT 1

November 4

1956

Kalpn Webster

November 17

J957

Eugene Wilson

November 17

T957

Dave Murdock

November 16

1958

Henderson Scott

September 27

1959

Jack Kerley

September 27

1959

Ralph Biggerstaff

September 27

J959

Otis Terrell

October 30

i960

APPENDIX C
TRUSTEES

The following is a list of the Board of Trustees and the date of
their election by the congregation.

John W. Bason

December

1906

John M. Baker

December

1906

Wm. J. Gibson

December

1906

William Bason

March 13

1910

W. J. Gibson

March 13

1910

James Covington

March 13

1910

R. W. Scott

W. Kerr Scott

June 24

1929

E. C. Turner

George S. Bason

December

1939

John D. Kimrey

December

1955

R. H. Scott

November

1958

250

APPENDICES

APPENDIX D
EARLY CHURCH ROLLS

Among the historical records of the church there is a paper, ap-
parently in the handwriting of Stephen A. White, which gives the earliest
list of church members. This, however, is not an official roll.

Members of Haw fields Church before 1800

Geo. Allen & family John Patton, Sen.

Mrs. George Allen Stephen White

Joseph Freeland Anna Ross White

Mrs. Joseph Freeland David Tinnen & several of the family

Mr. Stockard, father of Hon. John Mrs. William

Eli McDaniel Hugh

Ray Miss Polly Wilson

Andrew Murdock Mrs. Rachel Jones
Mrs. Margaret Murdock Two of the Morris family
James Gill John Woods
John Nelson Richard Woods
Tate Matthew Woods

Rev. Robert Tate Joseph Baker, Sr.

Joseph Tate Turner family

Samuel Tate Sam Kirkpatrick

Samuel Scott Mrs. Hannah Kirkpatrick

Alexander Mebane, Jr. Alex Kirkpatrick

James Mebane, son of Alex. Rev. Wm. Hodge

Alexander Russell Mrs. Charity Hodge

Alexander Patton Mrs. Ann Bullridge

Alexander Johnston Mrs. Anderson

James McAdams, Sen. Mrs. Roney Hodge

Members of Haw fields Church, 1800-1820

John Allen
Nancy Hodge

Mrs. Smith who married & went to Guilford

Samuel White & wife Nancy White, was a Mebane

Elizabeth White, wife of David White, formerly daughter of Alex Allen

Hannah White, daughter of Bryan wife of Joseph White

Amelia White, daughter of Geo. Faucette, wife of James

John White & wife

Elizabeth Woods, wife of Richard Woods, daughter of James Mebane

APPENDICES

251

Jane Elliott, daughter of James Mebane, wife of Alexander Elliott
Mary Armstrong, daughter of James Mebane
Margaret Johnston, daughter of James Mebane
David Mebane family

Fanny Mebane, married Fenner Walker

Martha Mebane, married Pleasant Holt

Jane Mebane, married John Thompson

Betsy Mebane, married John Mitchell

Elbridge Mebane & wife, daughter of J. Moore
Mrs. Attelia Mebane, wife of Geo.
Mrs. Betsy Mebane, wife of David, Sr.

John Nelson & wife, lived at the Sharp place; she was a Burnside
Rebecca Mebane, daughter of Robert Mebane and wife
James, died in Texas about close of War

The First Hawfields Church Roll

The earliest roll of the Hawfields Church is the "List of membership
reported to Presbytery, meeting at Milton, April 12, 1838." In the session
book the male and female members are written in separate columns.
The list of slaves at the end have the initials of their owners after their
names.

David White

Elizabeth White

Samuel Scott

Nancy Scott

Samuel White

Nancy White

Samuel Tate

Sarah Tate

John Scott

Margaret Scott

Stephen Glass

Elizabeth Glass

Samuel Kirkpatrick

Jane Kirkpatrick

Samuel Kerr

Jane Kerr

John Fossett

Margaret Johnston

Stephen White

Isabella White

Dr. James A. Craig

Susanna Craig

Alexander Patton

Levinia Patton

John Johnston

Charity Johnston

Joseph Tate, Sr.

Sarah Tate

Robert Dickson

Frances Dickson

Alvis Cheek

Nancy Cheek

George Freeland

Isabella Freeland

John Freeland

Deborah Freeland

Thomas Fossett

Elizabeth Fossett

APPENDICES

Alvis Crawford

Mary Christmas

Richard Glass

Henrietta Robeson

James Patton, Jr.

Sarah Crawford

Jeremiah Bason

Elizabeth Cooper

Samuel Nelson

Ann Royster

Thomas Tate, Jr.

Nelly Patton, Sen.

Joseph Tate, Jr.

Margaret Patton

Thomas Tate, Sr.

Catherine Clindenin

Leonard Fossett

Mary Clindenin

Joseph Thompson

Catherine Roney

William McRerorery

Nelly Turner

Samuel White

Hannah Turner

Robert F. White

Jane Patton

Samuel Patton, Sr.

Nancy Hodge

Joseph Freeland

Martha Hodge

John White

Jane Allen

Henderson Scott

Martha Cheek

Henry Bason

Jane Thompson

William Bason

Eleanor Johnston

Frances Johnston

Margaret Woods

Mary Woods, Jr.

Mary Woods, Sr.

Susanah Jones

Livinia Woods

Hannah Kirkpatrick

Elizabeth Kirkpatrick

Jane Nelson

Catherine Gill

Margaret Murdock

Jane Tinnin

Nancy Tinnin

Elizabeth Currie, Sr.

Elizabeth Currie, Jr.

Margaret Currie

Rebecca Mebane

Elizabeth Mebane

Frances Mebane

Polly Tate

Margaret Tate

Patsy Tate

APPENDICES

Charity Tate
Frances Tate
Margaret Tate
Jane Tate
Ann Tate

Margaret Thompson
Polly Allen
Elizabeth Dickson
Margaret Stanford
Rebecca Fossett
Elizabeth Fossett
Sarah Thompson
Mary P. Mebane
Ann Lynch
Sylvia Shaw
Milly White
Mary Cook
Margaret White
Eliza White
Frances White
Hannah White
Rebecca McAdams
Jane McAdams
Martha Freeland
Jane Clendenin
Elizabeth Paisley
Louisa Paisley
Martha Freeland
Margaret McDaniel
Parthena Ward
Ann Horn
Hannah Dickson
Margaret Anderson
Frances Scott
Martha Anderson
Frances Mebane
Margaret Shaw
Mary Wilson, Sr.
Mary Wilson, Jr.
Emely Wilson

254

APPENDICES

May 1838
Joseph White
Randolph Mebeny

Colored Males
Caesar, Wm. G.
Nathan, Jas. Jn.
Henry, Wm. K'k
Alfred, J. W.
Isaac, Grifis
Sam, J. B.
Lewis, J. F'd.

May 1838
Maria Bason
Temperance Roney
Catherine Roney
Harriet Steel
Narcissa Tate
Mary Cauch

Colored Females
Fanny, Sm.G's
Fanny, Dr.
Eliza, S. K.
Culla, Js. Jn.
Ammica, E. J'n.
Jinny, J. A.
Charity, D. Me.
Patience, J'n F'r.
Phillis, J's W.
Nelly, D. W.
Lucy, S. G.
Jenny, R. A. estate
Sally, estate
Ann, P. F'r.
Nancy, S. G.
Charity, S. W.

1838
Ann, S. W.
Bridget, D. W.

APPENDIX E

CHURCH ROLL — 185O

The following roll of members is given at the end of the first session
book. Some of these are the same names which occur on the roll of
1838, but they are given here as they appear in the session book. The
letter "c" appears before the colored members. In some cases they are
given without the name of their owner.

David White Jeremiah Bason

Elizabeth White Elizabeth Cooler

Samuel Scott Ann Royster

Nancy Scott Samuel Nelson

APPENDICES

Samuel White
Nancy White
Samuel Tate
Sarah Tate
John Scott
Margaret Scott
Stephen Glass
Elizabeth Glass
Samuel Kirkpatrick
Jane Kirkpatrick
Samuel Kerr
Jane Kerr
John Faucett
Stephen White
Isabella White
James A. Craig
Susanna Craig
Margaret Johnston
Alex Patton
Lavinia Patton
John Johnston
Charity Johnston
Joseph Tate, Sr.
Sarah Tate
Robert Dixon
Frances Dixon
Alvis Crawford
Alvis Cheek
Nancy Cheek
George Freeland
Isabella Freeland
John Freeland
Deborah Freeland
Thomas Faucett
Elizabeth Faucett
Richard C. Glass
Mary Christmas
J?mes Patton, Jr.
Sarah Crawford
Rebecca Mebane
Joseph Freeland

Thomas Tate of Jos.
Eleanor Patton, Sr.
Margaret Patton
Joseph Tate, Jr.
Thomas Tate, Sen.
Mary Clendenin
Catherine Clendenin
Leonard Faucett
Catherine Roney
Joseph Thompson
Eleanor Turner
Hannah Turner
Jane Patton
Nancy Hodge
William McRorey
Martha Hodge
Jane Allen
Samuel M. White
Martha Cheek
Jane Thompson
Eleanor Johnston
Frances Johnston
Robert F. White
Margaret Woods
Mary Woods, Sen.
Mary Woods, Jr.
Susanna Jones
Lavinia Woods
Hannah Kirkpatrick
Elizabeth Kirkpatrick
Samuel Patton, Sen.
Jane Nelson
Catherine Gill
Margaret Murdock
Jane Tinnen
Nancy Tinnen
Elizabeth Currie
Elizabeth Currie, Jr.
Margaret Currie
Mary Couch
Henderson Scott

APPENDICES

Elizabeth Mebane
Frances Mebane
Mary Tate
Margaret Tate
Patsy Tate
Frances Tate
Charity Tate
Margaret Tate
Jane Tate
Ann Tate
Margaret Shaw
Margaret Thompson
Polly Allen
Elizabeth Dixon
Margaret Stanford
Rebecca Faucett
Elizabeth Faucett
John White
Sarah Thompson
Mary Patterson
Ann E. Lynch
Sylvia Shaw
Amelia White
Mary Cook
Margaret White
Eliza White
Frances White
Hannah White
Rebecca McAdams
Jane McAdams
Martha Freeland
Jane Clendenin
Elizabeth Paisley
Louisa Paisley
Martha Freeland
Margaret McDaniel
Parthena Ward
Ann Horn
Hannah Dixon
Margaret Anderson
Martha Anderson

Henry Bason

William F. Bason

Josiah White

Randolph Mabery

Nancy Tinnen

Martha Mebane

Martha Craig

Mary J. Mebane

Cornelia Tinnen
c Caesar of Royster
c Nathan of Jas. Johnston
c Fanny of G. Class
c Fanny, Jr. of G. Class
c Henry of Hugh Kirkpatrick
c Alfred of Jas. White
c Eliza of G. Kerr
c Celia of Jas. Johnston
c Isaac Griffis
c Ammica of E. Johnston
c Sam of James Baker
c Jane of Jane Allen
c Lewis of Jas. Freeland
c Charity of D. Mebane
c Patience of John Faucett
c Phillis of Jas. White
c Nelly of D. White
c Lucy of Long
c Jane of R. Christmas
c Sally of R. Christmas
c Ann of R. Christmas
c Nancy of Long
c Charity of Samuel White
c Ann of Samuel White
c Bridget of D. Mebane
c Mary of Mrs. Allen
c Hannah of Jno. Tate
c Jerry of James White
c Elijah of Mr. Currie
c Ceily of Samuel Scott
c Eliza of John Johnston

John Nelson

APPENDICES

257

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Margaret G. Kerr

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Addison E. Wilson

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Joseph R. Tate

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Robert B. Mebane

Joseph Bason, Jr.

David Thompson

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James Johnston

George Faucett

Anna Allen, Sr.

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Jane Mebane

Atelia Mebane

Polly Shaw

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Patsy Shaw

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L. Dickson

George Gaskill

Ann C. Mebane

Benjamin Roney

iilizabetn Jvl. Wiiite

Joseph Baker

Susan L. Gaskill

j_»UKcy 01 ivirs. rduccLt

urucuia vjasKin

Esther of Jno. Bason

Cornelia Cheek

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iMancy 1 diLon

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Eleanor Patton

iNdncy OCOLL

Malinda Craig

Martha Dixon

Mary Ann Lyncy

T^li7a Ann DirKsnn

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Susanna Baker

Joel M. Phillips

Mariah

Geo. W. Crawford

Sarah Roney

Wm. A. Kirkpatrick

APPENDICES

Cornelia Tate
Mary Ann Paisley
Huston Kirkpatrick
Nancy Freeman
Margaret Tate
Margaret Lashley
Jane Nelson
Eliza J. Kerr
Patience

Calvin E. Graves, Oct. 23, 1843

David C. Russell

Elizabeth A. Tate, Jan. 10, 1844

Frances Tate

Elizabeth Mebane

Wm. R. Tate

George W. White

John H. Holt

Menice Wilson

Margaret Russell

Eliza

Hugh Wilson

Melala

Daniel

Dely

Candace

Sarah

Patience

Capt. Wm. Johnston
George A. Russell
Wm. Tinnen Tate
David

1846

James M. Johnston
Margaret Thompson
Elizabeth Woods
Charity
Charles

James S. Scott
Harriet Tate
Harriet Mebane
Mary Smith

Keziah E. Roberson

Hannah Kirkpatrick

Lurene E. Credle

John W. Fossett

Ezekiel C. Kirkpatrick

John Tate, Esq.

John C. Russell

Mary J. Allen

Henrietta Tate

Margaret Mebane
c Andrew
c Mary
c Phebe
c Hannah
c Winna
c Betsy
c Mary Jane
c Charles
c Mary Ann
c Melissa
c Melly

APPENDICES

James W. Russell
c Ruben
c Polly

Henrietta Roberson

Calvin Scott

Benjamin F. Mebane

Catherine Bason

Barbara Bason

Elizabeth Roney

John Q. A. Mebane

Margaret E. Glass

Susan E. Kerr

Mary Ann Bason

Sarah Cheek, Oct. 27, 1850

Stephen A. White, Oct. 26, 1851

Number of white members, Jan. 1852 is 162, blacks, 43.

CHURCH ROLL — 1961

The following roll is given by families, listing names of children.

APPENDIX F

Albright, Daniel
Albright, T. Elmo
Albright, Mrs. T. Elmo

Sandra

Barry

Eric

Albright, Mrs. Cad A.
Albright, Miss Lesta
Albright, W. Herbert

Albright, Miss Annie Laurie

Allen, Luther
Allen, Mrs. Luther
Atkinson, Mrs. William
Baker, Mrs. Edward
Baker, Mrs. John
Barnes, Jackie
Barnes, Miss Dianne Betty
Bason, George S.
Bason, Mrs. George S.

Albright, Mrs. W. Linwood
Billy
Carol
Lynn

Albright, James E.

Albright, Mrs. James E.
James Jr.
Eva
Boyce

Albright, W. Linwood

George S. Jr.
Biggerstaff, Ralph L.
Biggerstaff, Mrs. Ralph L.
Brown, Mrs. A. I.
Burgess, Delmer
Capps, Curtis
Capps, Mrs. Curtis

Cathy

Karen

Carrington, Mrs. George
Carter, Roy

APPENDICES

Carter, Mrs. Roy

Cindy

Vickie
Caviness, Ernest
Caviness, Mrs. Ernest

Grady
Clarke, Mrs. Jesse
Cole, Mrs. Sam
Couturier, Mrs. V. E.
Covington, Charles H.
Covington, Brodie C.
Covington, Mrs. Brodie C.

Brodie Charles
Covington, Dewey
Covington, Mrs. Dewey
Covington, Neel
Covington, Mrs. Neel
Covington, Miss Martha Lee
Covington, Jim
Covington, Mrs. Jim

David

Jimmy
Covington, W. F.
Covington, Mrs. W. F.

Fenton

Jean Carol

Kathy
Covington, Mrs. James
Covington, Jimmy
Covington, Richmond
Covington, Joe
Cox, C. N.
Cox, Mrs. C. N.

Betty Gray

Susie

Culberson, Mrs. C. A.
Culberson, Henry
Daniels, Mrs. Harold
Dilkes, Robert Warren
Dixon, Frank
Dixon, Mrs. Frank
Dixon, Donald

Dixon, Mrs. Donald
Dixon, John Troy
Dixon, Mrs. John Troy

Dorothy Ellen

Mildred

Roberta

Carol
Doss, Howard C.
Doss, Mrs. Howard C.

Ann

John
Doss, Miss Nancy
Doss, Jerry
Doss, Mrs. Jerry
Doss, Neil
Doss, Virgil
Doss, Mrs. Virgil

Timothy

Lyndon
Dunn, Joe
Dunn, Mrs. Joe

Nancy
Ellis, Charles N.
Ellis, Mrs. Charles N.
Evans, Eugene J.
Evans, Mrs. Eugene J.
Evans, Roy A. Sr.
Evans, Mrs. Roy A.
Evans, R. A. Jr.
Evans, Mrs. R. A.

Jimmy Kenneth
Farrell, Hal
Farrell, Mrs. Hal

Danny
Farrell, J. W.
Farrell, Mrs. J. W.

Jimmy

Tommy
Faucette, John
Faucette, Mrs. John

Dorothy Lee

James

APPENDICES

Fleming, Mrs. N. N. Sr.
Fleming, Miss Mary Rosa
Fleming, N. N. Ill
Fleming, Mrs. N. N.
Florence, Sam
Florence, Miss Linda
Freshwater, Chester
Freshwater, E. Kerr
Freshwater, Mrs. E. Kerr

Susan Elaine

Ruth Ann

Eddie
Gibson, Mrs. J. T.
Gibson, Norman
Gibson, Mrs. Norman

Carolyn

Chester

Dickie

Sandra

Nancy
Glosson, C. S.
Glosson, Mrs. C. S.

Linda
Graves, Autry
Graves, Mrs. Autry
Graves, Mrs. Bright
Graves, Page
Graves, Mrs. Page
Gumm, Roy M.
Gumm, Mrs. Roy M.

Billy

Donald

Rae Vone

Tommy
Haire, Robert
Haire, Mrs. Robert
Hadley, Miss Doris
Hoggard, Mrs. Frank
Holmes, Mrs. A. W. Sr.

Darrell

Carolyn

Judy

Holmes, A. W. Jr.
Holmes, Mrs. A. W.

Cheryl

Sydney

Gary
Holmes, Carl
Holmes, Mrs. Carl
Holmes, William
Holmes, Mrs. William

Ernest

Shirley
Ingold, Mrs. Dace
Idol, W. P.
Idol, Mrs. W. P.
Isley, C. N.
Isley, Russell
Isley, Mrs. Russell
Johnson, Sidney
Johnson, Mrs. Sidney
Jones, Mrs. Ethel Squires
Kelly, Mrs. W. C.
Kerley, Jack
Kerley, Mrs. Jack

Cynthia
Kersey, Miss Nannie
Kirkpatrick, H. E.
Kimrey, John
Kimrey, Mrs. John

Richard

Kemp

Betty Jane

Nell
King, Emmitt
King, Mrs. Emmitt
Kronberg, Rudolf
Kronberg, Mrs. Rudolf

Viesturs

Karlis

Marita
Laird, Chambers G.
Laird, Mrs. Chambers G.

Holt

APPENDICES

Edith

Marguerita
Lancaster, Mrs. Robert

Catherine Ann
Mann, A. Harvey
Maultsby, Miss Gail
Maultsby, Miss Nancy
Maultsby, Miss Sarah

Betty

Drew

Vickie
Mebane, Mrs. Ava
Mebane, D. D.
Mebane, Mrs. D. D.
Mebane, R. C.
Mebane, Mrs. R. C.

Billy
Mebane, Bobby

Robert Fitch
Minor, Richard
Minor, Mrs. Richard
Murdock, David
Murdock, Mrs. David
McAdams, Mrs. W. G.
McAdams, W. T.
McAdams, Mrs. W. T.
McAuley, Mrs. D. D.
McCullough, Miss Gayle
McCullough, Mrs. Stanley
McGee, James
McGee, Mrs. John
McGee, Lloyd Hill
McGee, Mrs. Lloyd Hill

Gloria

Theressa

Sarah Jean
McGee, Randolph

Sharron
MacLean, Herman G.
MacLean, Mrs. Herman G.

Keith

Kathy

McPherson, B. A.
McPherson, Mrs. B. A.

Harold
McPherson, Mrs. W. K.
McPherson, Mrs. D. W.
McPherson, Bill
McPherson, Mrs. Bill
McPherson, Jerry
Neese, Howard C.
Neese, Mrs. Howard C.

Howard, Jr.

Ronald

Debbie
Overman, Gurney
Overman, Mrs. Gurney

Sylvia
Patterson, Gene
Patterson, Mrs. Gene
Patton, C. J., Jr.
Patton, Mrs. C. J.

Penny

Joel

Patton, Miss Flora
Patton, Sam
Pedelty, Clark
Pedelty, Mrs. Clark
Pedelty, Elwin
Pedelty, Mrs. Elwin

Vicki

Lea

Larry
Pedelty, Milton
Pedelty, Mrs. Milton

Steve

Penny

Connie
Pedelty, Russell
Pedelty, Mrs. Russell

Karen
Phillips, J. H.
Phillips, Mrs. J. H.

APPENDICES

263

Ray, Dewitt
Ray, Mrs. Dewitt

Barbara

Rozelle

Clarence
Rich, Haskell
Rich, Mrs. Haskell

Emily Jo

Bobby

Tommy
Riddle, Claude H.
Riddle, Mrs. Claude H.

Janet

Robertson, Mrs. Lonnie
Rowland, W. S.
Rowland, Benny
Scott, A. Hughes
Scott, Mrs. A. Hughes

Charles

Martha
Scott, Dewey G.
Scott, Mrs. Dewey G.

Donald

Patricia

Ronald

Terry

Steve
Scott, Henry A.
Scott, Mrs. Henry A.

Henry A. Jr.

Nancy
Scott, Paisley W.
Scott, Mrs. Paisley W.

Ann

Edwin

Elizabeth

Sarah

Jane

Stephen
Scott, Ralph H.
Scott, Mrs. Ralph H.

Scott, R. Henderson, Jr.
Scott, Mrs. R. Henderson

Betsy

Carolyn

Ralph

Marie
Scott, Dr. Floyd S.
Scott, Mrs. W. Kerr
Scott, Robert
Scott, Mrs. Robert

Mary

Meg

Susan

Kerr

Shambley, Miss Carol Ann
Smith, Odel
Smith, Mrs. Odel

Karen
Smith, Philip
Smith, Mrs. Philip
Smith, Lee
Smith, Mrs. Lee
Stout, Clarence
Stout, Mrs. Clarence

Debbie

Lucy

Geniene
Stuart, Donald
Stuart, Mrs. J. R.
Sutton, Gerald
Sutton, Mrs. Gerald

Laura

Marie

James
Sykes, Mrs. O'Neal
Teer, Bernard
Teer, Hartsell
Teer, Myron
Terrell, Mrs. Alfred
Terrell, Otis

264

APPENDICES

Terrell, Mrs. Otis

William Russell
Turner, Mrs. A. L.
Turner, Richard

Jerry

Bobby
Turner, Mrs. Gayland
Turner, John
Turner, Miss Nellie
Tyson, Mrs. C. M.
Warr, Edgar
Warr, Mrs. Edgar
Webster, Henry
Webster, Mrs. Henry

Faye

Nancy
Webster, L. R.
Webster, Mrs. L. R.
Webster, Robert N.
Webster, Mrs. Robert N.

David

Jane

Webster, Thomas H.
Webster, Ralph
Webster, Mrs. Ralph

Patricia

Clyde

Stanley

Betsy
Wells, C. P.

Wells, Mrs. C. P.

Sara Lane

Cyrus
Whitfield, J. A.
Whitfield, Mrs. J. A.

Jimmy
Whitfield, Miss Sarah
Whittmore, Mrs. Kennon
Wiggins, Mrs. Rosalie
Wilson, J. Clay
Wilson, Mrs. J. Clay

Clara Jo

Arnold
Wilson, Harry

Shelia Ann
Wilson, L. Eugene
Wilson, Mrs. L. Eugene
Woods, Gilly L.
Woods, Mrs. Gilly L.

Gwen

Sharon
Wood, John
Wood, Mrs. John

Larry
Young, Mrs. Charles
Young, Mrs. Richard

Roger
Zachary, Fleming
Zachary, Mrs. Fleming

Lewis

Angela

APPENDIX G
STATISTICAL GROWTH OF THE CHURCH

Growth in Church membership, Sunday school enrollment and con-
tributions.

YEAR

1846
1847
1848
1849
1850

MEMBERSHIP
250
253
253
253
253

S. S. ENROLLMENT

CONTRIBUTIONS

APPENDICES

265

1851

222

1852

204

1853

222

1854

239

1855

237

1856

232 (43 colored)

1857

235 (43 colored)

1858

221 (30 colored)

1059

011 (it cci\nrf*cW

1 000

224 v35 ^UAOrcu )

1870

J73

$ 444

1875

150

100

710

1880

189

443

1885

i75

930

1890

180

507

1895

198

418

1900

225

739

1905

220

670

1910

194

720

1915

226

168

1306

1920

264

678

1925

248

242

12127

1930

236

187

2795

1935

245

180

2578

1940

3°5

194

3465

IQ45

332

176

10753

1946

333

196

9609

J947

357

213

13003

1948

368

230

x3463

1949

383

235

12589

1950

381

233

52467

1951

404

267

24341

1952

400

282

18282

x953

419

356

20218

1954

3X5

311

26861

1955

328

344

20414

1956

342

360

29555

J957

371

383

32189

1958

372

339

40983

T959

383

361

41 178

i960

378

355

32083

266

APPENDICES

APPENDIX H
SUNDAY SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS

The first mention of a Sunday school is in the minutes of February
10, 1838, of the session, when Samuel Kerr was appointed a delegate to
the Orange County Sunday School Society.

On March 24, 1838, the sessions of Hawfields and Cross Roads
churches took steps to have their pastor (Mr. Currie) made a life mem-
ber of the American Sunday School Union.

On March 24, 1874, the session made its first report on the Sunday
school to presbytery, but no mention is made of a superintendent.

The minutes of the session mention the following superintendents
and the date of their election. This list may not be complete because the
yearly reports of the session to presbytery in the early days do not always
make mention of the Sunday school or record the election of a super-
intendent.

jL/r. .rYiexancier vv nson

ividrcn ^1

1 070

T. C. Johnston and George "W. White

/\prn 30

1000

vjcorge w . w nice

July 17

1004

j\. v . L>raig

March 19

I»94

iL. Ly. 1 urner

March 31

I9OO

J\. W. oCOtt

March 3*

1902

A. V. Craig

April 9

1905

A. V. Craig

March 31

1906

E. C. Turner

March 31

IQ07

J. R. White

April 7

1908

J. R. White

March 31

1910

J. S. Gibson

April 10

1912

J. P. Kerr

April 4

1913

J. R. White

April 7

1915

E. C. Turner

Nov. 26

I9I7

R. W. Scott

April 10

I9l8

W. Kerr Scott

April 20

1919

Edward G. Kerr

March 17

1922

E. C. Turner, Jr., Asst.

April 9

1923

Edward G. Kerr

April 11

1925

Edward G. Kerr

April 4

I926

Edward G. Kerr

April 11

1927

Edward G. Kerr

April 14

1928

R. C. White

April 9

1929

David McPherson

March

1930

APPENDICES

267

David McPherson

March 10

1931

J. Earl Covington

April 5

1932

J. Earl Covington

April 8

1936

J. Earl Covington

April 2

1939

J. Earl Covington

March 9

1940

J. }. Fenton, Jr.

April 8

1941

J. J. Fenton, Jr.

March 30

1942

J. J. Fenton, Jr.

April 6

1943

E. J. Evans

Feb. 20

1944

H. C. Doss

March 31

1946

H. C. Doss

March 31

1947

R. C. Mebane

April 4

1948

R. C. Mebane

March 27

1949

H. G. McLean

August 1

!954

Dewey Scott

March 11

1958

APPENDIX I
WOMEN OF THE CHURCH

The earliest records obtainable indicate that the Ladies Missionary
Society was organized by Mrs. S. H. Chester on May 25, 1885, and that
she was the first President.

Mrs. Goodman changed the name to the Woman's Auxiliary and
served as the first President. She also attempted to hold regular monthly
meetings.

Mrs. Barclay reorganized the Auxiliary and started the circle plan.
She also organized a young woman's circle and a girl's circle but these
ceased to meet after a few months.

Early Presidents of the Woman's Auxiliary:

Mrs. A. H. Mann Mrs. J. W. Ferrell

Mrs. N. N. Fleming Mrs. J. H. Phillips

Mrs. J. J. Fenton, Jr. Mrs. N. N. Fleming

Presidents of the Auxiliary and Woman of the Church since 1939:

1940-

Mrs. W. Kerr Scott

1947

— Mrs. R. C. Mebane

1941 —

Mrs. J. H. Phillips

1948

— Mrs. J. H. Phillips

1942—

Mrs. J. H. Phillips

1949

— Mrs. J. H. Phillips

1943-

Mrs. L. R. Webster

1950

— Mrs. J. H. Phillips

1944-

Mrs. L. R. Webster

1951

— Mrs. R. C. Mebane

1945-

No report

1952

— Mrs. George Bason

1946-

Mrs. R. C. Mebane

1953

— Mrs. George Bason

268

APPENDICES

1954 — Mrs. Kerr Freshwater

1955 — Mrs. Kerr Freshwater

1956 — Mrs. Eugene Wilson

1957 — Mrs. Eugene Wilson

1958 — Mrs. Robert N. Webster

1959 — Mrs. Bob Webster

1960 — Mrs. H. C. Doss

appendix j

YOUNG PEOPLE'S ORGANIZATION

It is generally believed that Mrs. Chester started an organization for
the young girls of the congregation called "Sunbeams," but no mention
is made of such an organization in the minutes of the session until Dr.
Mebane's pastorate. During his ministry the narrative reports to pres-
bytery list the following as presidents of the Sunbeams.

1907 — Margaret Scott

1908 — Agnes White

1909 — Esther Covington

191 0 — Mildred White
191 1 — Mattie Gibson

Those who acted as leaders or advisers to the Sunbeams were Miss
Mamie Scott, Miss Frank White, and Miss Lizzie Foust.

During Mr. Goodman's pastorate, the "Christian Endeavor" was
organized. No mention of those who acted as presidents is given in the
narrative reports of the session for the next fourteen years, but the fol-
lowing young people are known to have acted as presidents of the
Christian Endeavor. These young people did not necessarily serve in
the order in which they are given here.

Kerr Scott Anice Thornton

Walter Mann Mildred White

Ernest Turner Mary White

Charlie Gibson Mona Covington

Ed McPherson Esther Covington

Dave McPherson Dewey Covington

Herbert Thornton Mattie Gibson

During Mr. Fleming's pastorate the Christian Endeavor was reor-
ganized as "The Young People of the Church," and the following young
people served as president of this organization.

1925 — Lamont Dixon 1928 — Baxter McPherson

1926 — Mrs. D. W. McPherson 1929 — Lois Covington

1927 — John Turner 1930 — Mary Rosa Fleming

APPENDICES

1931

— James Evans

1946 —

T T 1 0 . .

Henderson Scott

1932

— J. W. Phillips

1947 —

J933

— Pearl Kimrey

1948-

Jim Covington

*934

— Dewey Covington, Jr.

1949 —

Ann Fenton

J935

— Coleman Sykes

1950 —

Monie Gibson

1936

— James Albright

1951 —

Benny Covington

*937

— Alma Covington

1952-

Peggy Covington

1938

— Jessamine Fleming

1953 —

Kent Mann

1939

— Martha Lee Covington

1954 —

Sara Mann

1940

— Ruth Webster

1955-

Gratha Mae Caviness

1941

— Jean Mann

1956 —

Bill McPherson

1942

— Bill Covington

I957 —

Donald Johnston

1943

— Bob Webster

1958-

Ronald Scott

1944

— Robert Scott

1959 —

Roe Vone Gumm

!945

— Ruby Lea Webster

i960 —

Ann Doss

269

APPENDIX K
HAWFIELDS' CONTRIBUTION TO THE MINISTRY

William Hodge: Hawfields and Cross Roads Presbyterian churches.
Charity White: wife of William Hodge.

Robert Tate: pioneer minister in New Hanover and Duplin counties
(see W. H. Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, p. 180).

Hugh Shaw: a "Sketch of the History of Hawfields Church," by
Mary Wilson, dated September 15, 1857, lists Hugh Shaw as one of Haw-
fields' contributions to the ministry. He was licensed by Orange Presby-
tery along with E. B. Currie and others in March, 1801.

Nancy Mebane: wife of William D. Paisley, minister of Hawfields
and Cross Roads churches (see text, Chapter VI).

Herbert S. Turner: Bethel Presbyterian Church, Staunton, Virginia,
1919-1947; Professor of Religion and Philosophy, Mary Baldwin College,
Staunton, Virginia, 1 947-1 962.

J. Walter Mann: Galax Presbyterian Church, Galax, Virginia, 1922-
1923; Ashboro Presbyterian Church, Ashboro, North Carolina, 1923-
1924; Efland Presbyterian Church, Efland, North Carolina, 1925-1926;
the Eno group of churches, Hillsboro, North Carolina, 1926-1941; the
Third Creek group of churches, Concord Presbytery, 1941-1944; Antioch
Presbyterian Church, Fayetteville Presbytery, 1 944-1950; the Caswell group
of churches, Wilmington Presbytery, 1 950-1 951.

Esther Covington: wife of J. Walter Mann.

Arthur Vann Gibson: Westminster Presbyterian Church, Whiteville,
North Carolina, 1927-1933; First Presbyterian Church, Sanford, North

270 APPENDICES

Carolina, 1 933-1943; Morningside Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, Georgia,
!943 •

Lacy Vance McPherson: Perry Presbyterian Church, Perry, Missouri,
1 931-1938; St. Charles Presbyterian Church, St. Charles, Missouri, 1938-
1944; Higginsville Presbyterian Church, Higginsville, Missouri, 1944-
1946; Taylorsville Presbyterian Church, Taylorsville, North Carolina,

1955 *

James J. Watkins: Hurly Presbyterian Church, Hurly, Virginia,

1958 — .

Jean Mann : wife of James J. Watkins.

Olson Pemberton, Jr.: Olson Pemberton might be called a grandson
of Hawfields Church. He is the son of Anice Thornton Pemberton, who
grew up in the Hawfields community and was an active leader in the
young people's work. Mr. Pemberton is a missionary of the United
Presbyterian Church of America to Brazil.

Russell Booth Fleming: Natalia Presbyterian Church, Natalia, Texas,
1948; St. Andrews group of churches, Sanford, North Carolina, 1948-
1951; West Haven Presbyterian Church, Rocky Mount, North Carolina,
1951-1958; Western Boulevard Presbyterian Church, Raleigh, North
Carolina, 1958 .

APPENDIX L
MILITARY SERVICE, WORLD WAR I

Tom Barclay Edwin Scott (died in service)

Jennings Bason Henry Scott

Jere Bason Floyd Scott

Sam Bason Kerr Scott

Battle Burgess Frank Thornton

Viola Covington Herbert Thornton

Lawrence Dixon Roland Webster

Albert Gibson Robert White

Julian Gill

MILITARY SERVICE, WORLD WAR II

Elmo Albright William Covington

Linwood Albright Frank Culberson

J. C. Andrews Marvin Dixon

John R. Bagwell John Troy Dixon

Roland Burgess James Elliott

Dewey Covington, Jr. (killed in action) James Evans

APPENDICES

271

Roland Evans
Kerr Freshwater
L. A. Gibson
Norman Gibson
Willie Graves
Colon Isley
Eugene Isley
John William Isley
William Johnston
Myron Mora
J. W. Phillips
Evelyn McAdams
Maggie McPherson

Walter McPherson
Woodrow McPherson
Paisley Scott
Tommy Stuart
Clyde Turner
Ernest Turner
Frances Turner
Jack Turner
Daniel Webster
Betty Webster
Robert Webster
Ruth Webster
J. B. Way

NOTES

CHAPTER I

1. John Lawson, History of North Carolina (Charlotte, N.C.: Observer Printing
House, 1903), p. 29.

2. Hugh Lefler and Paul Wager (eds.), Orange County, 1752-1952 (Chapel Hill,
N. C: The Orange Printshop, 1953), p. I.

3. Douglas L. Rights, The American Indian in North Carolina (Winston-Salem, N.C.:
John F. Blair, 1947), p. 252.

4. Lawson, History of North Carolina, pp. 29-30.

5. Rights, The American Indian, p. 250.

6. Douglas L. Rights and William P. Cumming, The Discoveries of John Lederer, with
Unpublished Letters by and about Lederer to Governor John Winthrop Jr. (Charlottes-
ville, Va.: The University of Virginia Press, 1958), pp. 26-28.

7. Lawson, History of North Carolina, p. 29.

8. William L. Saunders (ed.), The Colonial Records of North Carolina (Raleigh,
N.C.: Published under the supervision of the trustees of the public libraries, by order
of the General Assembly. P. M. Hale, State Printer, 1886), III, 194.

9. John Brickell, The Natural History of North Carolina (Dublin, 1737; Raleigh,
N.C.: Printed by the authority of the trustees of the public libraries, 191 1), p. 11.

10. William K. Boyd, William Byrd's Histories of the Dividing Line between Vir-
ginia and North Carolina with Introduction and Notes (Raleigh, N.C.: The North
Carolina Historical Commission, 1929), pp. 168, 196.

11. Ibid., p. 206.

12. Ibid., p. 286 ff.

13. Lawson, History of North Carolina, p. 29.

14. Rights, The American Indian, pp. xi, no.

15. Ibid., p. 251.

16. Rights and Cumming, The Discoveries of John Lederer, pp. 26-28.

17. Rights, The American Indian, p. 123.

18. Boyd, William Byrd's Histories, p. 218; see also Samuel A. Ashe, History of
North Carolina (Greensboro, N.C.: Charles L. Van Noppen, 1908), I, 86.

19. Rights, The American Indian, p. 122; see also James Mooney, "Siouan Tribes
of the East," Bulletin No. 22 (Washington D.C.: Bureau of American Ethnology, n.d.);
James B. Griffin (ed.), Archaeology of Eastern United States (Chicago: The University
of Chicago Press, 1952).

20. Ashe, History of North Carolina, I, 85-86.

21. Boyd, William Byrd's Histories, p. 218.

22. Colonial Records of North Carolina, VI (1886), 219.

23. Rights, The American Indian, p. 123.

274

NOTES, PAGES 8-20

24. Ibid., pp. 9, 30, 64, 259.

25. Boyd, William Byrd's Histories, p. 310.

26. Douglas L. Rights, "Traces of Indians in Piedmont North Carolina," North
Carolina Historical Review, I (1924), 277-88.

27. Rights, The American Indian, p. 8.

28. Ibid., p. 9.

29. Ibid., p. 30.

30. Rights and Cumming, The Discoveries of John Lederer, pp. 26-28.

31. Rights, The American Indian, p. 55.

32. W. T. Whitsett, A Brief History of Alamance County (Burlington, N.C.: D. Pate
and Company, 1926), p. 9.

33. Rights, The American Indian, p. 30.

34. Rights and Cumming, The Discoveries of John Lederer, pp. 26-28.

35. Lawson, History of North Carolina, p. 102.

36. Boyd, William Byrd's Histories, p. 310.

37. Rights, The American Indian, p. 67; see also Boyd, William Byrd's Histories,
p. 160.

38. Thomas J. Wertenbaker, The Shaping of Colonial Virginia: Virginia under the
Stuarts (New York: Russell arid Russell, 1957), p. 159.

39. Ibid., p. 162.

40. Lawson, History of North Carolina, p. 30.

41. Boyd, William Byrd's Histories, p. i6on.

42. D. H. Hill, "John Lawson" ("Library of Southern Literature" [Atlanta: The
Martin Hoyt Company, 1907]), VII, 3101.

43. Lawson, History of North Carolina, pp. 10 1-2, 109.

44. Ibid., p. 105

45. Ibid., p. 106.

46. Ibid., p. 107.

47. Ibid., p. 94.

48. Brickell, The Natural History of N.C., p. 262.

49. Boyd, William Byrd's Histories, p. 158.

50. Douglas L. Rights, "The Trading Path to the Indians," North Carolina Historical
Review, VII (1931), 403-26; there are similar traditions handed down by the old families
in Hawfields.

51. Ibid., pp. 403 ff.

52. Boyd, William Byrd's Histories, p. 298.

53. For a full description of his journey through North Carolina and his return to
Virginia, see Rights and Cumming, The Discoveries of John Lederer.

54. Rights, The American Indian, p. 69.

55. Lawson, History of North Carolina, p. 29.

56. Ibid., p. 30.

57. Lawson, History of North Carolina, quoted in Lefler and Wager (eds.), Orange
County, 1752-1952, p. 12.

58. Mark Van Doren (ed.), William Byrd, A Journey to the Land of Eden, quoted in
Rights, The American Indian.

59. Rights, The American Indian, p. 108.

60. Lawson, History of North Carolina, compiler's Preface, p. v.

61. Colonial Records of North Carolina, VIII (1890), p. 654.

62. E. W. Caruthers, Interesting Revolutionary Incidents and Sketches of Character,
Chiefly in the "Old North State." (Second Series; Philadelphia: Hayes and Zell, 1856),
p. 422.

63. Ashe, History of North Carolina, I, 267.

64. Ibid., p. 267.

65. Colonial Records of North Carolina, IV (1886), 220.

NOTES, PAGES 21-32

275

66. Ibid., I (1886), 579.

67. Ibid., V (1886), 622.

68. Ibid., Ill (1886), 518.

69. Francis Nash, Hillsboro: Colonial and Revolutionary (Chapel Hill, N.C.: The
Orange Printshop, 1953. A reprint with index and biographical sketch. First published
in 1903), pp. 95-96.

70. Ibid., p. 25.

71. Ibid., p. 85 ff.

72. Ibid., p. 25.

CHAPTER II

1. Charles A. and Mary R. Beard, A Basic History of The United States (New York:
Doubleday, Doran and Company, 1944), p. 12.

2. Ibid., p. 22.

3. Ibid., p. 18.

4. Henry Jones Ford, The Scotch-Irish in America (Princeton, N.J.: The Princeton
University Press, 19 15), p. 206.

5. Ibid., p. 207.

6. Carl Wittke, We Who Built America: The Saga of the Immigrant (New York:
Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1945), p. 8.

7. Ibid., p. 8; see also "A Colonial Steerage Act, 1751," quoted in Edith Abbott,
Immigration Select Documents and Case Records (Chicago: The University of Chicago
Press, 1924), p. 6.

8. Ibid., p. 8.

9. Ford, The Scotch-Irish in America, p. 270.

10. Charles A. Hanna, The Scotch-Irish, or the Scot in North Britain, North Ireland,
and North America, (New York: G. E. Putnam's Sons, 1902) I, 499.

11. Ibid., II, 340 ff. See also Appendix T, "Conditions of the Ulster Plantation."

12. Ford, The Scotch-Irish in America, p. 98. A complete list of the Undertakers is
given in Appendix B, p. 548.

13. Hanna, The Scotch-Irish, I, 501.

14. Ford, The Scotch-Irish in America, p. 171.

15. George Scott, quoted in Henry Jones Ford, The Scotch-Irish in America, p. 177.

16. Charles K. Bolton, quoted in Henry Jones Ford, The Scotch-Irish in America, p. 192.

17. Hanna, The Scotch Irish, II, 15.

18. Ibid., I, 621.

19. Ford, The Scotch-Irish in America, p. 188.

20. Ibid., p. 195.

21. Ibid., p. 199.

22. Logan Papers concerning the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. (Philadelphia: Historical
Society of Pennsylvania), IV, 153-54.

23. Hanna, The Scotch-Irish, II, 63.

24. Ford, The Scotch-Irish in America, p. 265.

25. Ibid., p. 267.

26. Samuel A. Ashe, History of North Carolina (Greensboro, N.C.: Charles L. Van
Noppen, 1908), I, 277.

27. William Henry Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, Historical and Biographical
(New York: Robert Carter, 1848), p. 79.

28. Ian Charles C. Graham, Colonists from Scotland: Emigrants to North America,
1709-1783 (Ithaca, N.Y.: The Cornell University Press, 1956), p. 19.

29. D. I. Craig, "A Historical Sketch of New Hope Church" Montreat, N.C.:
Privately printed, 1891), p. 8.

30. Ibid., p. 8.

276

NOTES, PAGES 32-43

31. Annals of Augusta County, Virginia, from 1726 to 187 1 (Bridgcwatcr, Va.:
Reprint of 1902 edition by C. J. Carrier Company, 1958), p. 26.

32. Robert Albion and Leonidas Dodson (eds.), Phillip Viewers Fithian, Journal 1775-
1776 (Princeton, N.J.: The Princeton University Press, 1943), pp. 138-140.

33. J. H. Anderson, "The Anderson Family" (MS, original copy in the possession of
Mrs. Janie Hawkins Parkins, Greensboro, N.C.).

34. Richmond C. Beaty and William J. Mulloy, William Byrd's Natural History of
Virginia, or the Newly Discovered Eden (Richmond, Va.: The Dietz Press, 1940), p. 50.

CHAPTER III

1. J. H. Anderson, "The Anderson Family" (MS, original copy in the possession of
Mrs. Janie Hawkins Parkins, Greensboro, N.C.).

2. D. I. Craig, "New Hope Church" (MS in the Union Theological Seminary Library,
Richmond, Va.).

3. D. I. Craig, "A Historical Sketch of New Hope Church" (Montreat, N.C.: Privately
printed, 1891), pp. 8-10.

4. Herbert S. Turner, mimeographed pamphlet, "The Turner Family."

5. These dates are taken from personal letters and family records.

6. Charles K. Bolton, Scotch-Irish Pioneers in Ulster and America (Boston: Beacon
and Brown, 1910), p. 271.

7. Hugh Lefler and Paul Wager, Orange County, 17 52-1 952 (Chapel Hill, the Orange
Printshop, 1953), p. 14.

8. George Micklejohn, "Report to The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in
Foreign Parts" (MS, London; photostats and microfilm in the Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C.).

9. Lefler and Wager (eds.), Orange County, 1752-1952, p. 14.

10. Joseph Doddridge, Notes, quoted in Ford, The Scotch-Irish in America, p. 283.

11. Walter Clark (ed.), The State Records of North Carolina (Published under the
supervision of the trustees of the public libraries, by order of the General Assembly;
Goldsboro, N.C.: Nash Brothers, 1940), XXIII, p. 61.

12. Henry Jones Ford, The Scotch-Irish in America (Princeton, N.J., The Princeton
University Press, 191 5), p. 383.

13. Wayland F. Dunaway, The Scotch-Irish of Colonial Pennsylvania (Chapel Hill,
N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 1944), p. 191.

14. The Philosophy of William James, Selected from His Chief Wor\s (Modern Li-
brary edition; New York: Random House, n.d.), 336.

15. Orange County Deed Book, Hillsboro, N.C., no. 17, p. 243.

16. Ibid., no. 9, p. 286.

17. Francis Nash, Hillsboro: Colonial and Revolutionary (Chapel Hill, N.C., The
Orange Printshop, 1953. A reprint with index and biographical sketch. First published
in 1903), p. 95.

18. Lefler and Wager (eds.), Orange County, 1752-1952, p. 25.

19. Records in the Land Grant Office, Raleigh, N.C.

20. Lefler and Wager (eds.), Orange County, 1752-1952, p. 166.

21. Ibid., p. 17.

22. Ibid., p. 14.

23. Ibid., pp. 19-20, 27.

24. Jethro Rumple, "Presbyterianism in North Carolina," The North Carolina Pres-
byterian (March 8, 1882).

25. William L. Saunders (ed.), The Colonial Records of North Carolina (Raleigh,
N.C: Published under the supervision of the trustees of the public libraries, by order
of the General Assembly. P. M. Hale, State Printer, 1890), X, 48, 236; XI (1895), 546.

26. Ibid., VIII, 15.

NOTES, PAGES 44-56

277

27. Nash, Hillsboro, pp. 5-6.

28. William Henry Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, Historical and Biographical
(New York: Robert Carter, 1848), p. 440.

29. J. A. Hunter, "Old Hawfields Speaks," The Mebane Enterprise (April, 1938).

30. Ibid.

31. Records of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (Philadelphia:
Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1841), p. 173.

32. Colonial Records of North Carolina, V (1886), p. 1213.

33. John Goodwin Herndon, John Thomson: Constitutionalist, Minister of the Word
of God, Educational Leader and Church Builder (Lancaster, Penn.: The Lancaster Press,
1943) P- 56.

34. These dates are taken from the minutes of the Synod of Philadelphia in Records
of the Presbyterian Church.

35. Records of the Presbyterian Church, p. 225. "Morrison's" was in what is now
Iredel County. "Jersey's on Atkin" was in Rowan, now Davidson County.

36. Ibid., p. 260.

37. Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, p. 167.

38. Records of the Presbyterian Church, p. 283.

39. Minutes of Hanover Presbytery (MSS in the Union Theological Seminary Library,
Richmond, Va.)

40. Ibid.

41. Ibid.

42. Ibid.; Grassy Creek is located in Granville County. Nut Bush is located in Vance
County.

43. Robert Latham, History of the Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church (Harris-
burg, Penn.: Privately printed, 1882), pp. 265 ff.

44. Ibid., p. 286.

45. Records of the Presbyterian Church, p. 339.

46. Ibid., p. 359.

47. Rumple, The North Carolina Presbyterian.

48. Minutes of Hanover Presbytery.

49. Ibid.

CHAPTER IV

1. Henry Pattillo, A Geographical Catechism (Halifax: Abraham Hodge, 1796; reprint
Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 1909; original MS in the
Union Theological Seminary Library, Richmond, Va.), p. i.

2. Worth S. Ray, The Mecklenburg Signers and their Neighbors (Privately printed,
1946), pp. 430-31-

3. William Henry Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, Historical and Biographical
(New York: Robert Carter, 1848), p. 215.

4. Henry Pattillo, Journal (MS, sermons and other papers in the Union Theological
Seminary Library, Richmond, Va.).

5. Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, p. 220.

6. Pattillo Papers.

7. Minutes of Hanover Presbytery (MSS in the Union Theological Seminary Library,
Richmond, Va.).

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid.

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid.

12. Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, pp. 175, 186.

13. Minutes of Hanover Presbytery.

278

NOTES, PAGES 56-77

14. William B. Sprague, Annals of the American Pulpit (New York: Robert Carter,
1858), III, 198.

15. E. W. Caruthers, A Sketch of the Life and Character of the Rev. David Caldwell,
D.D. (Greensboro, N.C.: Swain and Sherwood, 1842), p. 113.

16. Ibid., p. 142.

17. Hugh Lefler and Paul Wager (eds.), Orange County, 1752-1952 (Chapel Hill,
N.C.: The Orange Printshop, 1953), p. 28.

18. Caruthers, Life of David Caldwell, p. 98.

19. Nash, Hillsboro, p. 19.

20. Lefler and Wager (eds.), Orange County, 1752-1952, p. 32.

21. Ibid., p. 33.

22. William L. Saunders (ed.), The Colonial Records of North Carolina (Raleigh,
N.C.: Published under the supervision of the trustees of the public libraries, by order of
the General Assembly. P. M. Hale, State Printer, 1890), p. 710.

23. Samuel A. Ashe, History of North Carolina (Greensboro, N.C.: Charles L. Van
Noppen, 1908), I, 373.

24. Colonial Records of North Carolina, IX (1890), p. 78.

25. Ibid., VIII, 715.

26. Hunter, "Old Hawfields Speaks," Mebane Enterprise (April, 1938).

27. Durward L. Stokes, "Nathaniel Rochester in North Carolina," The North Carolina
Historical Review, XXXVIII (October, 1961), 469.

28. Nash, Hillsboro, p. 31.

29. Mrs. George Robins, "A Study of Early Hawfields Schools" (MS in the Alex-
ander Wilson School Library).

30. Colonial Records of North Carolina, VIII (1890), 80a.

31. Elmer D. Johnson, "The War of the Regulation: Its Place in History" (Unpub-
lished Master's thesis: University of North Carolina, 1942), p. 115.

32. Colonial Records of North Carolina, VII (1886), 813-14.
33- Ibid.

34. Ibid., p. 865.

35. George Micklejohn, "Report to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel"
(MS, London; photostats and microfilm in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).

36. Minutes of Hanover Presbytery.

37. Records of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (Philadelphia:
Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1841), p. 409.

38. Ibid., p. 413.

39. D. I. Craig, A History of the Development of the Presbyterian Church in North
Carolina (Richmond, Va.: Whittet & Shepperson, 1907), p. 12.

40. Colonial Records of North Carolina, VIII (1890), 487.

41. For a full account of the work of the Provincial Congress, see Ashe, History of
North Carolina, I, 472-572.

42. Colonial Records of North Carolina, X (1890), 169.

43. Ibid., p. 191; see also Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, p. 218.

44. Colonial Records of North Carolina, VIII (1890), xxxiv.

45. Pattillo Papers.

46. Ibid.

47. Ibid.

48. Ibid.

49. Ibid.

50. Ibid.

51. Pattillo, Geographical Catechism, p. v.

52. Ibid.

53. Pattillo Papers.

54. Ibid.

NOTES, PAGES 77-87

279

55. P. H. Dutton, "History of New Hope Church" (MS in the Union Theological
Seminary Library, Richmond, Va.).

56. Pattillo Papers.

57. Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, p. 223.

58. Drury Lacy, "Funeral Sermon on the death of Henry Pattillo" (MS in the Union
Theological Seminary Library, Richmond, Va.).

chapter v

1. Records of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (Philadelphia:
Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1841), p. 448.

2. Ibid., p. 463.

3. Latham, History of the Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church (Harrisburg,
Penn.: Privately printed, 1882), p. 268.

4. Records of the Presbyterian Church, p. 451.

5. W. H. Hoyt (ed.), The Papers of Archibald DeBow Murphey (Raleigh, N.C.:
The North Carolina Historical Commission, Edwards and Broughton, 1914), II, 411.

6. William L. Saunders (ed.), The Colonial Records of North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.:
Published under the supervision of the trustees of the public libraries, by order of the
General Assembly. P. M. Hale, State Printer, 1890), X, 972.

7. E. W. Caruthers, Revolutionary Incidents and Sketches of Character, Chiefly of the
"Old North State" (Philadelphia: Hayes and Zell, 1854), p. 119.

8. Francis Nash, Hillsboro: Colonial and Revolutionary (Chapel Hill, N.C.: The
Orange Printshop, 1953), p. 62.

9. Hugh T. Lefler, History of North Carolina (New York: The Lewis Historical
Publication Company, 1956), I, 240.

10. Pension Records of North Carolina in the Revolutionary War (State Library,
Raleigh, N.C.).

11. D. I. Craig, "A Historical Sketch of New Hope Church" (Montreat, N.C.:
Privately printed, 1891), p. 21.

12. Hugh Lefler and Paul Wager (eds.), Orange County, 17 52-1952 (Chapel Hill,
N.C.: The Orange Printshop, 1953), p. 49.

13. Ibid., p. 50.

14. Ibid., p. 56.

15. Caruthers, Interesting Revolutionary Incidents, Appendix, Lord Cornwallis' Order
Book.

16. Samuel A. Ashe, History of North Carolina (Greensboro, N.C.: Charles L. Van
Noppen, 1908) I, 658.

17. S. W. Stockard, History of Alamance (Raleigh, N.C.: Capitol Printing Company,
1900), "The Trollinger Family."

18. Caruthers, Revolutionary Incidents, p. 88.

19. Nash, Hillsboro, p. 67.

20. Caruthers, Revolutionary Incidents, p. 422.

21. Sara Beaumont Kennedy, Joscelyn Cheshire (New York: Doubleday, Page and
Company, 1902).

22. David Schenck, North Carolina 1780-1781. Being a History of the Invasion of
the Carolinas by the British Army under Lord Cornwallis in 1780-81 (Raleigh, N.C.:
Edwards and Broughton, 1889), p. 349.

23. Lamb, History of the American Revolution, p. 361, quoted in Schenck, North
Carolina, 1780-81, p. 345.

24. Schenck, North Carolina, i78o-'8i, p. 341.

25. Nash, Hillsboro, p. 64.

26. Ibid.

27. The Alamance Gleaner (October 1, 1903).

280

NOTES, PAGES 87-99

28. Caruthers, Revolutionary Incidents, p. 160.

29. Ibid., p. 207.

30. David Fanning, The Narrative of Colonel David Fanning, Written by Himself,
Detailing Astonishing Events in North Carolina from 177$ to 1783 (Richmond, Va.:
Privately printed, 1861), p. 35.

31. Caruthers, Revolutionary Incidents, pp. 362-63.

32. Hoyt (ed.), Papers of Archibald D. Murphey, I, 39.

33. Colonial Records of North Carolina, X (1890), 169, 191.

34. Only five pages of this manuscript have survived. It was written in reply to a
request from Dr. E. W. Caruthers for historical information, September 15, 1857. These
pages are among the historical records of Hawfields Church.

35. This statement is taken from an unsigned manuscript, with part of the pages
missing. It is now among the historical records of Hawfields Church.

36. Hillsboro Deed Book, no. 2, p. 109.

37. Hoyt (ed.), Papers of Archibald D. Murphey, II, 411. This paper is undated. The
original handwritten copy is in the Emmet Collection of the New York Public Library.

38. Hillsboro Will Book, A, p. 259.

39. Ibid.

40. A. G. and T. C. Ellis, "History of Eno Presbyterian Church" (Privately printed
pamphlet, 1955); see also "Hawfields Remembers its Workers of more than a Century
Ago," Greensboro Daily News (June 5, 1922).

41. E. W. Caruthers, A Sketch of the Life and Character of the Rev. David Caldwell,
D.D. (Greensboro, N.C.: Swain and Sherwood, 1842), p. 250.

42. William Henry Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, Historical and Biographical
(New York: Robert Carter, 1848), p. 281.

43. Hillsboro Deed Book, no. 4, p. 68.

44. Walter Clark (ed.), The State Records of North Carolina (Published under the
supervision of the tiustees of the public libraries, by order of the General Assembly;
Goldsboro, N.C.: Nash Brothers, 1905), XXVI, 1288.

45. Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, p. 226.

46. Ibid.

47. T. C. and A. G. Ellis, "History of Eno Presbyterian Church" (Montreat, N.C.:
Presbyterian Historical Foundation, 1955).

48. D. I. Craig, "New Hope Church" (MS in the Union Theological Seminary
Library, Richmond, Va.).

49. W. W. Sweet, Religion on the American Frontier: A Collection of Source Ma-
terials (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1936) II, 80 ff.

50. Lefler and Wager (eds.), Orange County, 1752-1952, p. 65.

51. Ibid., p. 67.

CHAPTER VI

1. William Henry Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, Historical and Biographical
(New York: Robert Carter, 1848), p. 283.

2. Ibid., p. 283.

3. Ibid., p. 283.

4. William G. McLoughlin, Jr., Modern Revivalism, Charles Grandison Finney to
Billy Graham (New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1959), p. 8.

5. Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, pp. 288, 374.

6. Ibid., p. 368.

7. Ibid., p. 373.

8. Ibid., p. 372.

9. Robert Davidson, History of the Presbyterian Church in the State of Kentucky
(New York: Robert Carter, 1847), P- M2-

NOTES, PAGES 99-114

281

10. Jethro Rumple, "Presbyterianism in North Carolina" The North Carolina Presby-
terian (March 29, 1882).

11. Hillsboro Deed Book, no. 2, p. 29.

12. James Smith, History of the Presbyterian Church from its Origin to the Present
Time, including a History of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church (Nashville: Privately
printed, 1835), p. 667.

13. Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, p. 286.

14. Hillsboro Deed Book, No. 7, p. 366.

15. Minutes of Orange Presbytery.

16. Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, p. 304.

17. Smith, History of the Presbyterian Church, p. 667.

18. E. W. Caruthers, quoted in G. G. Johnson, Ante-bellum North Carolina: A Social
History (Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 1937), p. 394.

19. Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, p. 226.

20. Minutes of Orange Presbytery.

21. Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, p. 376.

22. Minutes of the Synod of Kentucky (October 27, 1806).

23. Minutes of the Presbytery of Transylvania (December 6, 1809).

24. E. S. Arnett, Greensboro, North Carolina (Chapel Hill: The University of North
Carolina Press, 1955), pp. 21-24.

25. The Central Presbyterian (Richmond, Va.), April 4, 1857.

26. Minutes of Orange Presbtery.

27. Hillsboro Deed Book, no. 9, p. 284.

28. Ibid., no. 32, p. 248.

29. Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, p. 378.

30. E. W. Caruthers, "Richard Hug King and his Times" (Reminiscences of the Rev-
erend Eli Caruthers of Orange Presbytery. Prepared by order of Orange Presbytery.
Original and typed copy in the State Archives, Raleigh, N.C.), pp. 22-23.

31. Ibid., p. 25.

32. Ibid., pp. 25-28.

33. Ibid., p. 37.

34. For a more detailed description of the camp meetings, see W. W. Sweet, Religion
on the American Frontier, and G. G. Johnson, Ante-bellum North Carolina. For a
complete discussion of revival movements in America, consult William G. McLoughlin,
Modern Revivalism.

35. Rumple, "Presbyterianism in North Carolina."

36. Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, p. 379.

37. Minutes of Orange Presbytery.

38. Stephen A. White, "A Sketch of Hawfields Church" (MS among the historical
records of Hawfields Church).

39. Ibid., quoted in Mrs. W. Kerr Scott, "Historical Sketch of Hawfields Presbyterian
Church" (Privately printed pamphlet, 1945).

40. Rumple, "Presbyterianism in North Carolina."

41. Hillsboro Deed Book, no. 29. p. 55.

42. G. G. Johnson, Ante-bellum North Carolina, p. 444.

43. Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, pp. 512-13.

44. Charles L. Coon, North Carolina Schools and Academies, 1790-1840; A Docu-
mentary History (Raleigh, N.C.: The North Carolina Historical Commission, Edwards
and Broughton, 1915), p. 295.

45. Ibid., p. 296.

46. Ibid.

47. Arnett, Greensboro, North Carolina, p. 125.

48. Johnson, Ante-bellum North Carolina, p. 438.

49. Bettie D. Caldwell, Founders and Builders of Greensboro, 1808-1908 (Greens-

282

NOTES, PAGES 114-25

boro: Jos. J. Stone and Company, 1955), pp. 21-24. Chapter on Wm. D. Paisley written
by R. Murphy Williams, D.D.

50. Minutes of the Synod of North Carolina (October 6, i860), Vol. 4 of the bound
volumes of minutes, 1 844-1 860.

CHAPTER VII

1. James Hastings Nichols, History of Christianity, 1650-1950 (New York: The
Roland Press Company, 1956), p. 192.

2. Ibid., p. 191.

3. William Henry Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, Historical and Biographical (New
York: Robert Carter, 1848), p. 227.

4. Ibid., pp. 227-28.

5. Minutes of Orange Presbytery.

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.

8. Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, p. 410.

9. Ibid., p. 411.

10. Ibid.

11. Minutes of Orange Presbytery.

12. Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, p. 228.

13. Walter Clark (ed.), The State Records of North Carolina (Published under the
supervision of the trustees of the public libraries, by order of the General Assembly;
Goldsboro: Nash Brothers, 1905), XXVI, 1290.

14. Walter Whitaker, Centennial History of Alamance County, 1849-1949 (Burlington,
N.C.: Chamber of Commerce, 1949), p. 80.

15. Hugh Lefler and Paul Wager (eds.), Orange County, iy 52-1 952 (Chapel Hill,
N.C.: The Orange Printshop, 1953), p. 182.

16. Ibid., p. 183.

17. The Raleigh Register (August 3, 1849).

18. State Records, XXIII (1904), 728.

19. The Hillsboro Recorder (March 15, 1820).

20. Herbert S. Turner, mimeographed pamphlet, "Family Records."

21. S. W. Stockard, History of Alamance (Raleigh, N.C.: Capitol Printing Company,
1900), "The Trollinger Family."

22. State Records, XXVI (1905), 1286 ff.

23. W. H. Hoyt, The Papers of Archibald DeBow Murphey (Raleigh, N.C.: The
North Carolina Historical Commission, Edwards and Broughton, 191 4), I, 46.

24. John W. Moore, School History of North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.: Alfred Wil-
liams and Company, 1881), p. 152.

25. Diary of Edwin Holt, quoted in Whitaker, Centennial History, p. 86.

26. Lefler and Wager (eds.), Orange County, ij 52-1952, p. 265.

27. William K. Boyd, History of North Carolina (New York: The Lewis Publishing
Company, 191 9), II, 202.

28. J. G. deRoulhac Hamilton, The Papers of Thomas Ruffin (Raleigh, N.C.: The
North Carolina Historical Commission, Edwards and Broughton, 1920), IV, 332. An
address delivered before the State Agricultural Society of North Carolina, October 18, 1855.

29. State Records, XXVI (1905), 1286 ff.

30. Minutes of Orange Presbytery.

31. This quotation is taken from a few loose leaves among the historical records of
Hawfields Church.

32. Mrs. W. A. Murray, personal recollections.

33. Rumple, "Presbyterianism in North Carolina."

34. Lefler and Wager (eds.), Orange County, iy 52-1952, pp. 345 ff.

NOTES, PAGES 126-43 283

35. See Hoyt, Papers of Archibald D. Murphey.

36. Hugh T. Lefler, History of North Carolina (New York: The Lewis Historical
Publication Company, 1956), II, 309 ff.

37. See Hamilton, Papers of Thomas Ruffin.

38. Hoyt (ed.), Papers of Archibald D. Murphey, II, 429.

39. A. G. Hughes, "In Memorium," The North Carolina Presbyterian (July, 1867).

40. Lefler and Wager (eds.), Orange County, 17 52-1952, pp. 345 ff.

41. The Raleigh Register (July 14, 1826).

42. The Visitor and Telegraph (December 26, 1826).

43. Charles Lee Raper, The Church and Private Schools in North Carolina: A His-
torical Study (Greensboro, N.C.: J. J. Stone Book & Job Printers, 1898), p. 31.

44. G. G. Johnson, Ante-bellum North Carolina: A Social History (Chapel Hill, N.C.:
The University of North Carolina Press, 1937), p. 283.

45. Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, p. 178.

46. Richard Stanford Papers (State Archives, Raleigh, N.C.).

47. Stockard, History of Alamance, p. 85.

48. The Raleigh Star (January 8, 1829).

49. Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.:
Edwards and Broughton, 1907), I, 166.

50. Ibid.

51. Ibid.

52. Stockard, History of Alamance, pp. 84-85.

53. Raper, The Church and Private Schools, pp. 58-80.

54. Ibid.

55. Stockard, History of Alamance, p. 85.

56. Battle, 'University of North Carolina, pp. 2, 4, 9, 34, 37, 62.

57. Hoyt, Papers of Archibald D. Murphey, II, 49.

58. Minutes of the session.

59. Ibid.

60. Ibid.

61. These figures are taken from the minutes of the General Assembly of the Pres-
byterian Church.

62. Caruthers, "Richard Hug King and his Times" (Reminiscences of the Reverend
Eli Caruthers of Orange Presbytery. Prepared by order of Orange Presbytery. Original
and typed copy in the State Archives, Raleigh, N.C.).

63. Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, p. xiii.

64. Minutes of the session.

65. See Whitaker, Centennial History.

CHAPTER VIII

1. Sam Hughes, "Hughes Family Records."

2. T. C. and A. G. Ellis, "History of Eno Presbyterian Church" (Montreat, N.C.:
Presbyterian Historical Foundation, 1955).

3. Minutes of Orange Presbytery.

4. P. T. Penick, "Memorial to A. G. Hughes," North Carolina Presbyterian (July 9,
1873)-

5. Minutes of the session.

6. Ibid.

7. Ellis, "Eno Presbyterian Church."

8. Alamance County Deed Book, Graham, N.C., no. 1, p. 200.

9. E. C. Murray and A. Currie, "History of the Presbyterian Church of Graham,
North Carolina" (Privately printed pamphlet, n.d.).

10. Minutes of the session.

284

NOTES, PAGES 144-57

11. Samuel A. Ashe, History of North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.: Edwards and Brough-
ton, 1925), II, 499.

12. George Beacher, Science and Change in Alamance County (Mimeographed MS,
University of North Carolina Library), p. 13.

13. Ashe, History of North Carolina (1925 edition), II, 512.

14. Walter Whitaker, Centennial History of Alamance County, 1849-1949 (Burlington,
N.C.: Chamber of Commerce, 1949), p. 138.

15. A. G. Hughes, "In Memoriam," The North Carolina Presbyterian (August 15,
1867).

16. The Raleigh Register (January 11, 1822).

17. Alamance County Deed Book, no. 33, p. 101.

18. Lou Rogers, "Archibald DeBow Murphey," We the People, Vol. VII, no. 1, p. 2.

19. Personal recollections of Mrs. James Covington, a descendant of the Faucette
family.

20. The material on Dr. Wilson is taken largely from "In Memoriam," written for
The North Carolina Presbyterian (August 15, 1867), by A. G. Hughes.

21. Stephen A. White, "Historical Sketch of Hawfields Church" (MS among the
historical records of Hawfields Church).

22. Mildred White, "A History of Hawfields Church," State Normal Magazine, XVIII
May, 1914), 490.

23. Ibid,

24. Hugh T. Lefler, History of North Carolina (New York: The Lewis Historical
Publication Company, 1956), II, 484.

25. Whitaker, Centennial History, p. 114.

26. Lefler, History of North Carolina, II, 494.

27. Whitaker, Centennial History, p. 114.

28. Minutes of Orange Presbytery.

29. The Christian Observer, (November 21, 1 861).

30. Lefler, History of North Carolina, II, 505.

31. The Hillsboro Recorder, (March 12, 1862).

32. Lefler, History of North Carolina, II, 521.

33. J. G. deRoulhac Hamilton, Reconstruction in North Carolina (New York: Long-
mans, Green and Company, 19 14), p. 76.

34. Ibid., p. 77.

35. Mrs. Cornelia Spencer, The Last Ninety Days of the War in North Carolina,
quoted in Hamilton, Reconstruction, p. 80.

36. Whitaker, Centennial History, p. 119.

37. Lefler, History of North Carolina, II, 496.

38. Ibid., 530.

39. Ibid., p. 586.

40. Hamilton, Reconstruction, p. 462.

41. Ibid., p. 463.

42. Ibid., p. 464.

43. Ibid., p. 477.

44. Ibid.

45. Ibid., p. 470.

46. Ibid., p. 471.

47. Ibid., p. 485.

48. Ibid., p. 518.

49. Ashe, History of North Carolina (1925 edition), II, 11 14; there is also a typed
copy of these records taken from the State Archives among the historical records of
Hawfields Church.

50. Hamilton, Reconstruction, p. 519.

51. Lefler, History of North Carolina, II, 577.

NOTES, PAGES 157-70

285

52. Hamilton, Reconstruction, p. 546.

53. The Alamance Gleaner (March 31, 1892). See also Ashe, History of North
Carolina (1925 edition), II, 11 28.

54. Minutes of Alamance County Commissioners. These minutes begin in 1868 and
are a fruitful source of facts on the life of Alamance County since that date.

55. Minutes of the session.

56. Ibid.

57. Ibid.

58. Ibid.

59. The North Carolina Presbyterian (September 14, 1870).

60. Ibid.

61. The account of this meeting of the presbytery is taken from the minutes of
Orange Presbytery and from an article in The North Carolina Presbyterian (September
14, 1870).

62. The North Carolina Presbyterian, (July 9, 1873).

63. Ibid.

64. Minutes of the session.

65. Jethro Rumple, "Presbyterianism in North Carolina," The North Carolina Pres-
byterian (March 8, 1882).

CHAPTER IX

1. Minutes of the session.

2. Ibid.

3. Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.:
Edwards and Broughton, 1907), I, 702.

4. Webb Letters, 1860-64, and Richard D. White Collection, 1751-1919 (State
Archives, Raleigh, N.C.).

5. E. C. Scott, Ministerial Directory of the Presbyterian Church, U.S., 1861-1941 (Austin,
Tex.: Boeckmann -Jones Co., 1942); revised and supplemented edition (Atlanta, Ga.:
Hubbard Printing Company, 1950), p. 520.

6. Minutes of the session.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid.

10. Minutes of Orange Presbytery.

11. The account of Calvin Morrow's stay in Florida is taken from the Morrow family
papers.

12. Minutes of the session.

13. Ibid.

14. Ibid.

15. Ibid.

16. Walter L. Linglc, "Dr. S. H. Chester," The Christian Observer (May 22, 1940),
P- 3-

17. Scott, Ministerial Directory, p. 128.

18. S. H. Chester, Memories of Four-score Years, An Autobiography by Samuel Hall
Chester, D.D. (Richmond, Va.: Presbyterian Committee of Publication, 1934), p. no.

19. Minutes of the session.

20. Chester, Memories of Four-Score Years, p. 112.

21. Lingle, "Dr. S. H. Chester." p. 3.

22. Chester, Memories of Four-Score Years, p. 112.

23. Minutes of the session.

24. Minutes of Orange Presbytery.

25. Chester, Memories of Four-Score Years, p. 114.

286

NOTES, PAGES 170-85

26. Ibid., p. 113.

27. Ibid., p. 115.

28. S. W. Stockard, History of Alamance (Raleigh, N.C.: Capitol Printing Company,
1900), p. 87.

29. Scott, Ministerial Directory, p. 128.

30. Chester, Memories of Four-Score Years, p. 119.

31. Lingle, "Dr. S. H. Chester," p. 3.

32. Minutes of the session.

33. Scott, Ministerial Directory, p. 780.

34. Goodridge A. Wilson, Jr., personal letter.

35. Scott, Ministerial Directory, p. 780.

36. H. W. McLaughlin, "Memorial to Rev. Goodridge A. Wilson" (Minutes of the
Synod of Virginia, 1934).

37. Hugh Lefler, History of North Carolina (New York: The Lewis Historical Pub-
lication Company, 1956), II, 674.

38. "The Farmers' Alliance in North Carolina," The Progressive Farmer (February
28 and August 7, 1888).

39. Minutes of the North Carolina Board of Agriculture, VI, 184.

40. Minutes of the session.

41. Scott, Ministerial Directory, p. 160.

42. The Alamance Gleaner (April 28, 1892).

43. Minutes of Orange Presbytery.

44. Minutes of the session.

45. The Alamance Gleaner (April 28, 1892).

46. Ruth Covington, "Education in Hawfields" (MS in the Alexander Wilson School
Library).

47. Ibid.

chapter x

1. Hugh Lefler, History of North Carolina (New York: The Lewis Historical Publication
Company, 1956), II, 655.

2. Burton J. Hendrick, The Life and Letters of Walter Hines Page (Garden City:
Doubleday, Page & Company, 1923), I, 76.

3. Lefler, History of North Carolina, II, 688.

4. Aubrey Lee Brooks, A Southern Lawyer: Fifty Years at the Bar (Chapel Hill,
N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 1950), p. 50.

5. Lefler, History of North Carolina, II, 700.

6. Ibid., p. 695.

7. Ibid., p., 719.

8. Hendrick, Walter Hines Page, I, 86.

9. Ruth Covington, "Education in Hawfields" (MS in the Alexander Wilson School
Library) .

10. Lefler, History of North Carolina, II, 720.

11. Ibid., p. 721.

12. The Alamance Gleaner (April 16, 1903).

13. The Story of Lawson Chavis was contributed by Mrs. J. W. Man, who had
heard her father, J. C. Covington, repeat it many times.

14. Lefler, History of North Carolina, II, 723.

15. Gene Cheek and Elizabeth Grant, "The History of Education in Alamance County,"
North Carolina Education, Vol. X, no. 3 (1943), 129.

16. Minutes of Orange Presbytery.

17. E. C. Scott, Ministerial Directory of the Presbyterian Church, U.S., 1861-1941
(Austin, Tex.: Boeckman-Jones Co., 1942); revised and supplemented edition (Atlanta,
Ga.: Hubbard Printing Company, 1950), p. 160.

NOTES, PAGES 185-218

287

18. S. M. Rankin, History of Buffalo Presbyterian Church and her People (Greens-
boro, N.C.: J. J. Stone Book & Job Printers, 1898), p. 117.

19. Minutes of the session.

20. Scott, Ministerial Directory, p. 492.

21. Mrs. W. Kerr Scott, "Historical Sketch of Hawfields Presbyterian Church"
(Privately printed pamphlet, 1945), p. 26.

22. Minutes of the session.

23. Alamance County Deed Book, no. 10, p. 505.

24. Minutes of the session.

25. Covington, "Education in Hawfields."

26. Minutes of the session.

27. Minutes of the Synod of Georgia (1915), p. 14.

28. Rankin, Buffalo Presbyterian Church, p. 121.

29. Scott, Ministerial Directory, p. 256.

30. Ralph L. Buchanan, letter in author's possession.

31. Hendrick, Walter Hines Page, I, 78.

32. Minutes of Alamance County Commissioners (August 3, 1903).

33. Minutes of the North Carolina Board of Agriculture, VI, 184.

34. Jere Bason, "History of Demonstration Work in Alamance County" (MS, Agri-
cultural Extension Service, Raleigh, N.C.).

35. Mrs. W. Kerr Scott, "Historical Sketch," p. 27.

36. Minutes of the Synod of North Carolina (1924), p. 313.

37. Scott, Ministerial Directory, p. 35.

38. Minutes of the session.

39. Minutes of Orange Presbytery.

40. Minutes of Mecklenburg Presbytery.

41. Minutes of the session.

42. Scott, Ministerial Directory, p. 279.

43. Mrs. George Robins, "History of Alexander Wilson School" (MS in the Alexander
Wilson School Library).

44. Minutes of the session.

45. Ibid.

46. Minutes of Orange Presbytery.

47. Mrs. W. Kerr Scott, "Historical Sketch," p. 22.

48. Minutes of the session.

49. Scott, Ministerial Directory, p. 279.

50. Mrs. W. Kerr Scott, "Historical Sketch," p. 24.

51. Ibid., p. 56.

52. Ibid., p. 57

CHAPTER XI

1. Minutes of Orange Presbytery.

2. E. C. Scott, Ministerial Directory of the Presbyterian Church, U.S., 1861-1941
(Austin, Tex.: Boeckman-Jones Co., 1942); revised and supplemented edition (Atlanta,
Ga.: Hubbard Printing Company, 1950), p. 214.

3. Minutes of the session.

4. Ibid.

5. Mrs. W. Kerr Scott, "Historical Sketch of Hawfields Presbyterian Church" (Privately
printed pamphlet, 1945), p. 31.

6. Minutes of the Synod of North Carolina (1949), pp. 166-68.

7. Mrs. W. Kerr Scott, "Historical Sketch," p. 19.

8. Minutes of the session.

9. History of the Woman's Auxiliary (Montreat, N.C.: Presbyterian Historical Foun-
dation, 1941).

288

NOTES, PAGES 219-241

10. Ibid.

11. Church bulletin (May 16, 1943).

12. History of the Woman's Auxiliary (1944).

13. Mrs. W. Kerr Scott, "Historical Sketch," p. 66. The sermon is printed in full
at the end of the pamphlet.

14. Clarence Poe, personal letter (January 5, 1961).

15. Rudolph Pate, director of North Carolina State College news bureau.

16. Minutes of the board of trustees of Flora Macdonald College.

17. "Agricultural Review" (Raleigh, N.C.: State Department of Agriculture, May
25, 1929).

18. Ibid.

19. Minutes of the North Carolina Board of Agriculture, VI, 184.

20. Ibid., p. 189.

21. Rudolph Pate, director of North Carolina State College news bureau.

22. Stuart Noblin, The Grange in North Carolina, 1929-1954: A Story of Agricultural
Progress (Greensboro, N.C.: The Piedmont Press, 1954), p. 10.

23. Ibid., p. 14.

24. Mrs. W. Kerr Scott, "Historical Sketch," p. 48.

25. Minutes of the board of trustees of Flora Macdonald College.

26. Minutes of the session.

27. Scott, Ministerial Directory, p. 214.

28. The Christian Observer (January 19, 1949), p. 14.

29. Minutes of the Synod of North Carolina (1949), pp. 166-68.

CHAPTER XII

1. Church bulletin (December 26, 1955).

2. Minutes of the session.

3. Minutes of Orange Presbytery.

4. E. C. Scott, Ministerial Directory of the Presbyterian Church, U.S., 1861-1941
(Austin, Tex.: Boeckmann-Jones Co., 1942); revised and supplemented edition (Atlanta,
Ga.: Hubbard Printing Company, 1950), p. 91.

5. Minutes of the session.

6. Ibid.

7. Church bulletin (May 15, 1955).

8. Minutes of the session.

9. Ibid.

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid.

12. Ibid.

13. The North Carolina Grange News (November, 1956).

14. Raleigh News and Observer (October 28, 1956).

15. Arthur Vann Gibson, letter in author's possession.

16. John Lewis Turner, letter in author's possession.

17. Ralph L. Buchanan, personal records in author's possession.

18. The Smithfield Herald (April 18, 1958).

19. William Kerr Scott: Late Senator from North Carolina (Washington, D.C.:
United States Government Printing Office, 1958).

20. Ibid., p. 60.

21. Frank P. Graham, letter (August 21, 1961) in author's possession.

22. Minutes of the session.

23. Ibid.

INDEX

Abbott, Ruth, 213

Albright, Berta, 217

Albright, C. A., 218

Albright, Cad, 61, 218

Albright, Mrs. Cad, 229

Albright, Elmo, 270

Albright, Jacob, 82

Albright, James, 249, 269

Albright, Jeremiah, 156

Albright, John, 40

Albright, J. F., 166

Albright, James Scott, 203

Albright, J. T., 169

Albright, Linwood, 216, 248, 270

Albright, Sally, 217

Albright, William Herbert, 216, 218, 248

Alderman, Edwin A., 179

Alexander, J. C, 167

Alexander, Joseph, 56, 67, 68, 203

Alexander Wilson Academy, 146, 147

Alexander Wilson High School, 201

Allen, George, 40, 123, 246

Allen, George, Jr., 111

Allison, James, 100

Allison, Richard, 36

Allyn, George, 20

Anderson, Andrew, 41

Anderson, Ella, 182, 184

Anderson, James, 40

Anderson, John, 32, 34, 39, 47, 149

Anderson, Henry, 40

Anderson, Mary, 53

Andrews, J. C, 270

Annan, Robert, 49

Atkinson, josephy M., 159

Aycock, Governor Charles B., 179, 181-83

Bacon, Nathaniel, 11
Bagwell, John R., 270

Baird, C. A., 187
Baird, Mary Watkins, 202
Baker, John M., 187, 192, 196, 219, 247,
249

Baker, Joseph, 100, 245

Baker, J. W., 218

Baker, Styles, 219

Baker, W. M., 227

Balch, Hezekiah, 67, 68, 203, 209

Balch, Hezekiah James, 68, 93, 203, 209

Ballentine, L. Y., 239

Barton, Harry, 206

Barclay, Edna, 197

Barclay, Frank, 197

Barclay, Jonas, 197-200, 204

Barclay, Mrs. Jonas, 198

Barclay, Julia, 197

Barclay, Laura, 197

Barclay, Louisa Rhorer, 197

Barclay, Thomas, 197, 270

Barclay, Thomas P., 197

Bason, Barbara, 156

Bason, Elizabeth, 205

Bason, George S., 218, 224, 249

Bason, Mrs. George, 267

Bason, Ida, 205, 217

Bason, Jacob, 36

Bason, Jennings, 270

Bason, Jere, 195, 222, 270

Bason, Jeremiah, 247

Bason, John, 40

Bason, John W., 166, 187, 188, 246, 247,
249

Bason, Joseph, 136
Bason, Kate, 205
Bason, Rosa, 217
Bason, Sam, 270

Bason, W. H., 167, 168, 187, 195, 196
Bason, William, 197, 217, 249

290

INDEX

Benton, Jesse, 61

Benton, Thomas Hart, 132

Biggerstaff, Ralph, 249

Bingham, Robert, 133

Bingham, William, 132, 133, 160

Bingham, William James, 133

Blue, Lena, 184

Boyce, William M., Jr., 200

Boyd, J. A., 227

Bowman, James, 116

Bradshaw, Fannie, 178

Brickell, John, 5, 13

Brooks, Eugene C, 183

Broughton, Governor J. Melville, 219, 240

Brown, Alfred I., 248

Brown, Lizzie, 178

Brown, William, 192

Buchanan, Danny, 228, 241

Buchanan, Martha, 228, 241

Buchanan, Ralph L., ix, 226-41 passim

Buchanan, Mrs. Ralph L., 241

Burgess, Battle, 270

Burgess, Roland, 270

Burnt Shop, 146

Burke, Governor Thomas, 87

Burrington, Governor George, 4, 21

Butler, John, 41, 61, 80-89 passim

Butler, William, 41, 63

"Buzzard's Roost," 146

Byrd, William, 4-7, 17, 33, 38

Caldwell, David, 56, 59, 62-68 passim, 98-

ii 6 passim, 203, 209
Caldwell, Harry B., 233
Caldwell, Samuel C, 100
Campbell, Fanny, 172
Campbell, James, 55, 67
Capps, Curtis, 235, 249
Carrington, Elizabeth Scott, 231
Carter, Bettie G., 187
Carter, W. F., 208
Caruthers, E. W., viii, 81, 105, 137
Caswell, Richard, 70, 81, 89
Cates, Howard, 142
Caviness, E. L., 249
Caviness, Gratha, 269
Chavis, Lawson, 184
Cheek, James P., 247
Chester, Caroline Yemans, 168
Chester, Charles, 168
Chester, S. H., 167-72, 203
Child, Thomas, 42
Christie, John W., 230
Christmas, Nathaniel, 40

Church Roll before 1800, 250
Church Roll, 1 800-1 820, 250
Church Roll, 1838, 251
Church Roll, 1850, 254
Church Roll, 1961, 259
Churton, William, 42
Clendenin, Charles, 41
Clendenin, John, 87
Clendenin, Joseph, 36
Clendenin, Rose, 26
Clendenin, William, 40, 156
Clinton, Charles, 25
Coble, C. P., 207
Coble, Mrs. Jerome, 195
Cook, G. L., 172
Coppedge, W. R., 175, 176
Cornwallis, Lord, 19, 60, 83-85, 87, 118
Covington, Alma, 269
Covington, Benny, 269
Covington, Bill, 269
Covington, B. C, 231, 248
Covington, Mrs. C. D., 213
Covington, Dewey, 184, 192, 268
Covington, Dewey, Jr., 219, 269, 270
Covington, Esther, 189, 192, 268, 269
Covington, James, 247, 249, 269
Covington, James C, 218
Covington, J. E., 225, 227, 246, 267
Covington, J. W., 147, 219, 224, 235, 246,.
248

Covington, Mrs. J. W., 219, 235
Covington, Lois, 268, 269
Covington, Mona, 192, 268
Covington, Peggy, 269
Covington, Ruth, viii, 177
Covington, William, 270
Covington, W. F., 247
Covington, W. H., 248
Covington, Viola, 270
Coxe's Mill, 88

Craig, A. V., 166, 175, 187, 246, 266
Craig, D. I., 31, 34, 35, 82, 93, 199, 202,.

205

Craig, James, 93

Craig, James A., 125, 128, 129

Craig, John W., 157

Craig, William, 34, 35, 40

Craige, James A., 245

Craige, William, 22

Craighead, Alexander, 55

Criswell, James, 56, 64, 66, 68, 203, 209

Crittenden, C. C, 219

Crutchfield, J. E., 178

Culberson, Frank, 270

INDEX

291

Culbertson, Clara Lee, 175
Culbertson, Frances Ruth, 175
Culbertson, Lucy Knox, 175
Culbertson, Mary, 175

Culbertson, R. W., 174-76, 185, 186, 204,
208

Cummins, Jane, 143

Currie, A., 160, 162, 203

Currie, E. B., 105, 1 15-138 passim, 203

Curtis, George, 169

Davies, Samuel, 52-54

Davidson, Robert, 99

Day, Frances, 119

DeBoog, Hendrik, 80

DeBow, Banga, 90

DeBow, John, 79-92 passim, 99, 125

DeBow, Lucy, 91

DeBow, Solomon, 80, 91, 11 1

DeBow, Stephen, 91

DeKalb, Baron, 82

Denny, Mary Ann, 103

Dick, J. T., 196, 197, 246

Dixon, Holt, 189

Dixon, Frank, 248

Dixon, James, 100

Dixon, Josiah, 42

Dixon, J. T., 247, 248, 270

Dixon, Lamont, 268

Dixon, Lawrence, 270

Dixon, Martha, 143

Dixon, Marvin, 270

Dixon, Pleasant, 247

Doak, Samuel, 43

Dobbs, Arthur, 7

Doddridge, Joseph, 37, 38

Doll, Jacob, 169

Doss, Ann, 269

Doss, H. C, 247, 248, 267

Doss, Mrs. H. C, 242, 268

Dudley, Harold J., 230

Dupey, T. D., 178

Edwards, Jonathan, 97

Elliott, James, 270

Ellis, Charles, 196

Ellis, C. N., 248

Ellis, Governor John W., 151

Ellis, Rachel, 232

Enoch, James, 126

Erwin, Robert, 119

Evans, Eugene, 246, 248, 267

Evans, Ina, 183

Evans, James, 269, 270
Evans, Roland, 271

Fanning, Edmund, 22, 43, 57, 59, 69

Fanning, David, 87

Farrell, Hall, 249

Farrell, Hazel, 218

Farrell, J. W., 235

Farrell, J. W., Sr., 248

Farrell, Mrs. J. W., 218, 235, 267

Farrell, Will, 248

Fenton, Ann, 269

Fenton, J. J., 248

Fenton, J. J., Jr., 218, 224, 246, 267
Fenton, Mrs. J. J., Jr., 267
Files, Wade, 248
Fisher, Samuel, 25
Fitzgerald, J. H., 160
Fleming, Jessamine, 211, 269
Fleming, Lucy Loman, 211
Fleming, Mary Rosa, 211, 268
Fleming, Mary Rosa Wetmore, 212
Fleming, N. N., Jr., 207, 211 -31 passim
Fleming, Mrs. N. N., Jr., 213, 214, 267
Fleming, N. N. Ill, 211, 230-47, passim
248

Fleming, Russell, 211, 225, 230, 235, 270

Fleming, Willis Krider, 211

Foote, W. H., 79, 108, 131, 138

Fort Christanna, 12

Faucette, James, 41, 92

Faucette, John, 141, 245

Faucette, Robert, 41, 92

Faucette, William, 92

Foust, James, 92

Foust, John, 141

Foust, Mrs. John, 195

Foust, Robert, 92

Foust, William, 42

Franklin, Benjamin, 30, 96

Freeland, Deborah, 143

Freeland, George, 143

Freeland, Isabella, 143

Freeland, James, Jr., 40

Freeland, Martha, 143

Freeland, Thomas, 40

Freeman, Mary, 143

Freshwater, John Henry, 247

Freshwater, Kerr, 231, 249, 271

Freshwater, Mrs. Kerr, 268

Freshwater, Thadius, 157

-Gales, Joseph, 145

Garner, J. S., 206, 207, 211

292

INDEX

Gardner, Governor O. Max, 221
Gates, General Horatio, 83
Gattis, William, 136
Gibson, Albert, 270

Gibson, Arthur Vann, 219, 230, 234, 269
Gibson, Calvin, 156
Gibson, Charlie, 192, 268
Gibson, John Henry, 216
Gibson, Joseph S., 156, 188, 196, 212, 246,
266

Gibson, L. A., 271

Gibson, Mattie, 189, 192, 268

Gibson, Monie, 269

Gibson, Moses, 128

Gibson, Norman, 271

Gibson, Robert, 227

Gibson, Robert W., 248

Gibson, William J., 187, 247, 249

Gilbraith, Andrew, 36

Gilbraith, James, 36

Gilbraith, John, 36, 41

Gilbraith, William, 36, 41

Gill, Julian, 248, 270

Gill, Samuel, 245

Gill, Thomas, 245

Glass, Stephen, 136, 146, 245

Glenn, Governor, R. B., 189

Goodman, Grace, 217

Goodman, J. W., 195-97, J99» 205

Graham, Billy, 107

Graham, Frank P., 237

Graham, W. A., 221

Granville, Earl of, 20-22, 34, 39, 42, 58

Granville Hall, 73

Graves, Calvin, 142

Graves, Willie, 271

Greene, General Horatio, 119, 83, 85, 118
Gretter, John A., 143
Grier, James, 117
Gumm, Ray M., 247
Gumm, Roe Vone, 269

Hall, Creola, 213
Hall, James, 68
Hammer, Robert, 143
Hansel, Cary, 200
Hansel, Elizabeth, 200
Hansel, Elva, 200
Hansel, Ernest, 200
Hansel, Harrison, 200
Hansel, Holmes, 200
Hansel, Margaret, 200
Hansel, M. E., 200, 201, 204-6
Hansel, Virginia, 200

Harrison, Richard, 76
Hart, John, 63
Hart, Thomas, 59, 61
Hart's Mill, 84, 118, 121
Hastings, John, 88

Haw old fields, 3, 11-21 passim, 31-35

passim
Hawfields Academy, 112
Hawfields Memorial Association, 192
Hawfields School, viii, 14, 182-84
Hermitage, 122, 126, 127
High Rock, 116
Hightower, Henry, 88
Hill, H. G., 199
Hodge, Abraham, 74
Hodge, George, 40
Hodge, James, 81
Hodge, John, 40
Hodge, Joseph, 88, 100, 127
Hodge, William, 40, 99-103, 109, 117, 203,

269

Hodges, Governor Luther, 240

Hodgin, Charles E., 227

Hogg, James, 61

Holden, Thomas H., 122

Holden, Governor Thomas H., 156, 157

Holmes, A. W., 229, 235

Holmes, Mrs. A. W., 229, 235

Holmes, W. C, 248

Holt, Banks, 183

Hughes, Mrs. Anne, 161

Hughes, Mrs. Anne E., 140, 141

Hughes, A. G., 136, 140-176 passim, 203

Hughes, Anne Hartwell, 140

Hughes Female Academy, 147

Hughes, Joseph Dunn, 140

Hughes, Mary Woods, 140

Hughes, Roland, 90

Humphrey, Hubert, 237

Hunter, Isaac, 94

Hunter, James, 35

Husband, Herman, 59, 116

"Indian John," 16

Indians: Akenatzy, 11; Catawba, 7, 15;

Cherokee, 4, 7; Croatans, 10; Eno, 9, 10;

Eno-Will, 17, 18; Occoneechee, 6, 11, 15;

Saxapahaw, 3, 8, 9; Shackory, 8, 9; Sissi-

pahaw, 3, 10, 16; Tuscaroras, 6-9, 18
Isley, Colon, 271
Isley, Eugene, 271
Isley, John W., 271
Isley, Julian A., 247

INDEX

293

Jefferson, Thomas, 115

Johnson, Elmer D., 62

Johnson, Guion Griffis, 113

Johnson, Lyndon, 237

Johnston, Anna, 175

Johnston, Mrs. C, 169

Johnston, Craig, 235

Johnston, Donald, 269

Johnston, Elizabeth, 77

Johnston, Governor Gabriel, 36

Johnston, George, 40

Johnston, James, 136, 246

Johnston, J. C, 247

Johnston, John R., 157

Johnston, Robert, 41

Johnston, Samuel T., 216

Johnston, T. C., 168, 169, 246, 266

Johnston, William, 271

Johnston, William Craig, 235

Johnston, W. C, 247

Jones, Artelia, 178

Jones, Elizabeth Jane, 200

Jones, R. N., 152

Joyner, J. Y., 183

Karr, John, 36

Karr, Malcolm, 36

Kefauver, Estes, 237

Kennedy, Mrs. Walker, 85

Kerley, Jack, 249

Kerr, C. J., 247

Kerr, D. W., 246

Kerr, Edward G., 248, 266

Kerr, James, 40

Kerr, J. P., 194, 196, 223, 246, 266

Kerr, Mrs. J. P., 197

Kerr, Samuel, 136, 245

Kerr, W. C, 160

Kerr, William J., 158, 247

Kimrey, John D., 231, 246, 248, 249

Kimrey, Pearl, 269

Kinchner, William, 87

Kirk, George W., 156

Kirkland, William, 121

Kirkpatrick, Currie, 178

Kirkpatrick, Hunter, 163

Kirkpatrick, Samuel, Jr., 245

Kirkpatrick, Samuel, Sr., 245

Kirkpatrick, William, 156, 232

Knapp, Staman A., 193

Kronberg, Rudolf, 232

Lacy, B. R., 230
Lacy, Drury, 76

Lacy, J. H., 176

Lake, Jacob, 90-93, 203

Lake, Lucy, 92

Land of Eden, 18, 33

Lane, Joel, 94

Lawson, John, 4, 6, 10-18

Lederer, John, 4, 9-12, 15

Lee, Robert E., 168

Lefler, Hugh T., 126, 144

Liberty Hall, 69

Linder, Frances Boland, 242

Lindsey's Mill, 88

Lingle, Walter L., 218, 229

Lofquist, William A., 242

Logan, James, 30

Long, Jacob A., 155

Long, O. F., 146

Long, W. S., 182, 183

Lynch, Thomas, 41, 141

Lytch, William E., 242

Mallett, Peter, 39

Mann, Harvey, 249

Mann, Mrs. Harvey, 267

Mann, Jean, 269

Mann, Kent, 269

Mann, Sara, 269

Mann, Walter, 192, 268, 269

Matton, Nettie, 191

Marshall, Chief Justice John, 96

Martin, Governor Josiah, 61, 89

Mason Hall, 124

Mason, James, 112

Mayberry, Jones, 228, 249

Mayberry, Mrs. Jones, 228

McAdams, Evelyn, 271

McAdams, Hugh, 41

McAdams, William, 157

McAden, Hugh, 47-68 passim, 203, 209

McAdo, Samuel, 101

McCorkle, Samuel, 68, 79

McCormick, Mary Catherine, 232

McCulloch, Henry, 21

McDaniel, William, 245

McDermaid, Angus, 108

McGee, William, 102

McGoogan, Flora Margaret, 228

McGready, James, 93, 98, 99, 101, 116, 138

Mclver, Charles D., 179, 183

McLean, H. C, 249

McLean, H. G., 267

McLean, Malcolm, 184

McLean, Thomas G., 143

McMillan, Alexander, 81

294

INDEX

McMillan, John, 98

McPheeters, William, 145

McPherson, Baxter, 248, 268

McPherson, B. A., 231

McPherson, Bill, 269

McPherson, Dave, 192, 246, 266, 268

McPherson, Mrs. Dave, 218

McPherson, Mrs. D. W., 268

McPherson, Ed, 192, 268

McPherson, Lacy, 230, 270

McPherson, Maggie, 271

McPherson, Walter, 271

McPherson, Woodrow, 271

McWhorter, Alexander, 50, 80

Mebane, Alexander, Jr., 87, 89, 94, 101,

124, 128, 131, 134
Mebane, Alexander, Sr., 35, 36, 40, 41, 42,

61, 81, 82, 119, 123, 186, 245
Mebane, Alice, 187
Mebane, Attelia, 159
Mebane, Banks, 208

Mebane, Benjamin F., 159, 208, 209, 246

Mebane, B. W., 167, 186-90, 202, 204

Mebane, Carter, 187

Mebane, Clarence R., 248

Mebane, David, 82, 125, 155, 246

Mebane, David Cummings, 186

Mebane, Elbridge, 245

Mebane Fair, 195

Mebane, Fanny, 159

Mebane, Frank, 145, 156

Mebane, George A., 136

Mebane, Giles, 132, 139, 144, 151

Mebane, James, 82, 113, 125, 127

Mebane, Jeannette, 131

Mebane, John, 82, 87, 104, 143

Mebane, Mrs. Lily Morehead, 208, 210

Mebane, Martha, 159

Mebane, Nancy, 104, 269

Mebane, Robert, 81, 88

Mebane, R. C, 246, 267

Mebane, Mrs. R. C, 227, 267

Mebane, William, 40, 82, 94, 186, 245

Mebane's Mill, 121

Melville, 146

Melville, Andrew, 146

Mesenheimer, K. M., 242

Micklejohn, George, 36, 66, 69

Millard, J. M., 211

Ministers, Pioneer, 46-49

Mitchell, James, 36

Mitchell, Robert, 178

Mitchell, Thomas, 36

Mollett, Peter, 104

Moore, Charles, 157
Moore, Roger, 104
Moore, Robert, 39
Moore's Creek, 80, 81
Mora, Myron, 271
Morgan, S. G., 187
Morrison, H. P., 242

Morrow, C. N., 51, 160-72 passim, 196,

203, 217
Morrow, Ellen, 163
Morrow, George W., 132
Morrow, John, 163
Morrow, Lexie, 186
Morrow, Martha, 143
Morrow, R. C, 218
Morrow, Rachel Thompson, 163
Morrow, William, 63
Mount Pleasant, 61
Mount Repose, 132

Murdock, Andrew, 35, 40, 82, 123, 127,
245

Murdock, Dave, 249

Murphey, Archibald D., 122-134 passim, 146,
148

Murphey, William, 146
Murray, Lucian H., 157

Nash, Frances, 22, 43, 59, 69, 86
Needham, James, 15, 16
Nelson, John, 246
Nelson, Samuel, 40, 245
Newlin, Alfred, 35
Newland, James, 142

Oldham, George W., 184, 189
Oldham, Mrs. George W., 184
Oldham, Thomas, 186
Olmstead, Frederick Law, 123
Outlaw, Wyatt, 156
Oxford Academy, 140

Padro, Juan, 8

Page, Walter Hines, 179, 180, 193
Paisley, Elizabeth, 143
Paisley, John, 103
Paisley, Mary A., 143
Paisley, Polly, 113

Paisley, William, 103, 104, 109, 112-116

passim, 136, 203
Parke, Robert, 26
Parker, E. S., 207
Pattillo, Anderson, 76
Pattillo, Ann, 52, 76

INDEX

295

Pattillo, Henry, vii, 46, 51-80 passim, 93,

10 1, 148, 171, 203, 208, 209, 219
Pattillo, John Franklin, 76
Pattillo, Mildred (Milly), 76
Pattillo, Polly, 76

Patton, Alexander, 40, 156, 182, 187

Patton, Andrew, 40, 41

Patton, C. J., 249

Patton, Iola, 184

Patton, James C, 157

Patton, John A., 41, 167, 186, 246

Patton, Mrs. Julia, 196

Patton, Robert, 100

Patton, Samuel, 40, 156

Patton, William, 156, 157, 182

Pegram, Edna, 197

Pemberton, Olson, 270

Penick, P. T., 160, 162

Phillips, Charles, 159

Phillips, James H., 248

Phillips, Mrs. J. H., 267

Phillips, J. W., 269, 271

Pickard, Elijah, 104

Pickett, James, 104

Pioneer ministers, 46-49

Poe, Clarence, 222, 223

Pollock, George, 20, 39

Prather, Leonard, 105, 116

Prichard, J. H., 113

Proudfoot, James, 49

Pugh, James, 58

Puryear, William, 156

Rankin, John, 10 1, 102
Rankin, S. M., 208
Ray, David L., 143
Ray, Worth S., 52
Regulators, 57-70 passim
Rice, Mrs. John Holt, 56
Rich, Martha, 143
Richard, William, 54
Rigan, Mrs. Shanks, 218
Roan, Margaret, 35
Robinson, William, 46
Rochester, Nathaniel, 40, 61
Rogers, George, 186
Ross, Ann, 36
Ross, Betsy, 36

Ruffin, Thomas, 122-127 passim, 134, 148,

150, 151
Rumple, Jethro, 50, no
Russell, Alexander, 245
Russell, David C, 142
Russell, Governor Daniel L., 180

Scott, Calvin, 143
Scott, Dewey, 249, 267
Scott, Edwin, 198, 219, 270
Scott, Elizabeth, viii
Scott, Floyd, 270
Scott, Frances, 143
Scott, George, 27

Scott, Henderson, 146, 156, 158, 173, 246,
249, 269

Scott, Henry A., 205, 240, 246, 270

Scott, Mrs. Henry A., 149

Scott, Hugh, 36

Scott, Hughes, 213, 248

Scott, Mrs. Hughes, 232

Scott, James, 41

Scott, James S., 143

Scott, Jane Armistead, 126

Scott, John, 36, 126, 143, 245

Scott, Margaret, 189, 194, 268

Scott, Martha, 143

Scott, Mrs. M. G., 196

Scott, Osborne, 232, 239

Scott, Paisley, 271

Scott, Ralph H., ix, 216, 219, 223, 225,

227-243 passim, 247-49
Scott, Mrs. Ralph H., 216, 218
Scott, Robert, 41, 249, 269
Scott, Roland, 242, 269
Scott, R. W., 169, 174, 181-207 passim, 216,

219-23, 231, 240, 246-49, 266
Scott, Mrs. R. W., 196, 198, 216, 217, 219,

229, 231, 235
Scott, Samuel, 245
Scott, S. F., 231
Scott, S. K., 166, 167, 172, 246
Scott, Thomas, 126
Scott, Sir Walter, 62

Scolt, W. Kerr, 191-209 passim, 212, 217,
218, 222-25, 228-40 passim, 246, 247, 249,
266, 268, 270

Scott, Mrs. W. Kerr, viii, 236, 267

Scott, William, 40

Shafe, Charles, 218

Shafe, Mrs. Charles, 218

Sharp, Mrs. E., 169

Sharp, Robert, 247

Shaw, Hugh, 105, 269

Shaw, Joseph, 128

Shaw, M. M., 156

Shaw, Philip, Jr., 63

Shaw, Philip, Sr., 63

Shepperd, William, 118

Shelby, SuBette, 232

Shiver, N. C, 195

296

INDEX

Simmons, Furnifold M., 179, 180

Simpson, John, 79

Smith, Byrd R., 203

Smith, Jacob Henry, 152, 160

Smith, Odel, 148, 249

Smith, Quincy, 124

Smith, Willis, 236

Soldier's Aid Societies, 152

Somer (Samer), Robert, 76

Spencer, Mrs. Cornelia, 153

Spencer, Nettie, 182

Spenser, Elihu, 50, 80

Spicemarrow Creek, 76

Sprague, William P., 56

Stanford, Richard, 128, 131, 132

Stark, Clark, 242

Steel, John, 88

Stegall, C. R., 218

St. Matthew's Parish, 36, 43, 66

Stockard, James, 87

Stockard, Sally, 147

Strand, Austin, 232

Strayhorn, Gilbert, 34, 35, 245

Strayhorn, John, 77

Strong, Hugh, 167

Strudwick, Edmund, 21

Strudwick, Fredrick N., 157

Strudwick, Samuel, 21-61 passim, 157

Strudwick, Sheppard, 205

Stuart, Tommy, 271

Summey, George, 165

Sunday, Billy, 107

Swain, Governor David L., 119

Sykes, Coleman, 269

Tarleton, Lieutenant Colonel Banistre, 85

Tate, Armstrong, 178, 246

Tate, Calvin, 35

Tate, James, 131, 245

Tate, Joseph, 169, 246

Tate, Robert, 101, 269

Tate, Samuel, 141, 245

Tate, William, 40

Taylor, John, 132

Terrell, Otis, 249

"The Oaks," 133, 163, 166

Thomas, Frances Gene, 242

Thomas, Harriet, 232

Thomas, James Roland, 242

Thomas, Samuel N., 242

Thompson, A. A., 156, 171, 178, 247

Thompson, Bertie, 178

Thompson, C. Kerr, 247

Thompson, Ida, 213

Thompson, John, 36, 46, 121, 125
Thompson, Lawrence, 42
Thompson, Robert, 63
Thompson, Samuel, 63

Thompson, Thomas B., 145, 158, 169, 247
Thompson, William, 157, 178
Thomson, John, 53
Thornton, Anice, 192, 268
Thornton, Frank, 270
Thornton, Herbert, 192, 268, 270
Trollinger, Ben, 144
Trollinger, Jacob Henry, 121
Trollinger's mill, 121

Tryon, Governor William, 43, 57-63, 94,
118

Turner, A. L., 234, 248

Turner, Mrs. A. L., 224, 234

Turner, Clyde T., 271

Turner, Mrs. David, 184

Turner, E. C, 6, 147, 186-207 passim, 212,

223, 246, 249, 266
Turner, Ernest, 192, 266, 268, 271
Turner, Frances, 271
Turner, Herbert S., 184, 202, 230, 269
Turner, James, 40, 87
Turner, Jesse, 127, 128
Turner, Josiah, 127
Turner, John, 166, 167, 169, 188, 268
Turner, John Lewis (Jack), 234, 235, 271
Turner, Nellie, 213
Turner, Ralph, 213
Turrentine, Daniel, 100
Turrentine, David C, 132
Turrentine, James C, 127
Turrentine, Samuel, 127

Umstead, John, 88, 125

Vance, Zebulon B., 177

Waddell, Joseph A., 32
Wallace, Caleb, 79
Walker, Walter E., 205
Walsh, W. M., 200
Ward, William, Jr., 63
Ward, William, Sr., 63
Watkins, James J., 249, 270
Watkins, Tarleton H., 234
Watson, A. M., 167
Watson, James, 42
Way, J. B., 271
Webb, Mary Caroline, 163
Webb, Richard, 63
Webster, Betty, 271

INDEX

297

Webster, Daniel, 271

Webster, Fay, 232, 242

Webster, Henry, 247, 248

Webster, H. W., 242

Webster, Mrs. L. R., 267

Webster, Ralph, 249

Webster, Robert, 271

Webster, Mrs. Robert, 232, 242, 268

Webster, Robert N., 249, 269

Webster, Roland, 270

Webster, Ruby Lee, 269

Webster, Ruth, 269, 271

Wells, C. P., 231, 248

Wharton, E. P., 205

White, Agnes, 189, 216, 268

White, Bettie, 188

White, Charity, 99, 269

White, David, 245

White, Dorothy, 216, 217

White, Fannie, 178

White, Frankie, 188

White, George W., 246

White, Henry, 36

White, Hugh, 36

White, James Ira, 149, 169-71, 176, 178
White, Mrs. James Ira, 196
White, Jennie, 169, 197
White, J. Harvey, 205
White, John, 203

White, J. R., 186, 196, 197, 200, 216, 246,

247, 266
White, Mrs. J. R., 216, 217
White, J. S., 211, 227
White, Mary, 192, 268
White, Mary Jane, 202
White, Mildred, viii, 183, 189, 192, 268
White, Moses, 36
White, Paisley, 178
White, Robert F., 157

White, Robert C, 184, 188, 198, 246, 266,
270

White, Samuel M., 143, 245

White, Stephanus, 36, 100

White, Stephen A., viii, 40, 100, 109, no,

141-157 passim, 166-189 passim, 202, 207,

246, 247
White, Mrs. Stephen A., 176

White, Stephen A. V., 202
White, S. M., 168
White, Thomas, 149
White, W. E., 202, 205
Whitefield, George, 97
Whitfield, J. A., 247, 249
Whitsett, W. T., 208
Wiley, C. H., 159
Wilhelm, William F., 168
Willard, A. A., 169
Willard, Susan, 168, 169
Williams, Donald E., 218
Williams, John, 42
Williamson, George, 186
Willis, James, 100
Willis, Mary, 145
Wilson, Addison, 20

Wilson, Alexander, 99, 127, 145-148, 156,

158, 246, 266
Wilson, Eugene, 249
Wilson, Mrs. Eugene, 268
Wilson, George, 63

Wilson, Goodridge A., 172-74, 199, 200

Wilson, Goodridge A., Jr., 173

Wilson, Grace Ann, 172

Wilson, John, 63, 158

Wilson, J. Clay, 246, 248

Wilson, Joseph R., 169

Wilson, Mary, viii, 89

Wilson, M. E., 169

Wilson, Oscar, 205

Wilson, Robert, 246

Wilson, Thomas, 63

Wilson, William Venerable, 172

Wilson, Woodrow, 169

Winnindale, 22

Witherspoon, John, 68, 126

Witherspoon, Robert, 24

Wood, Abraham, 15

Wood, John H., 247, 248

Wood, William C, 248

Woodmason, Charles, 43

Yeardley, Francis, 8, 9
York, William, 178

Zachary, Fleming, 249

ELON COLLEGE LIBRARY
285.175658 T853ch
Turner, Herbert Snipes, 1
Church in the old fields: Hawf

i i ii i i li i ii; I II

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